Jayapura, Jubi – The Tolikara Youth and People’s Front (FPRT) has called for a full and transparent investigation into the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Krona, also known as Friki, Penggu in Tolikara Regency, Papua Highlands Province.
Penggu, a resident of Kimuggu Village in Telenggeme District, was shot dead in the Puncak Mega area of Belela, Tolikara Regency, on June 27.
The demand was made during a peaceful demonstration outside the Tolikara Regency Legislative Council (DPRK) office in Karubaga on Monday (July 6).
The coalition comprises several youth and community organisations, including the Indonesian Christian Youth Movement (GAMKI) Tolikara, the Tolikara Development Concern Forum (FPPT), the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), the West Papua People’s Liberation Movement (GR-PWP), and the West Papua People’s Movement (GRPB).
The demonstrators met with DPRK Deputy Speaker Wes Kogoya and council members Meki Wanimbo, Mutin Weya, and Udin Yikwa, presenting a series of demands centred on the investigation into Penggu’s death and several other unresolved fatal shootings in the regency.
GAMKI Tolikara chairperson Yas Kogoya said the demonstration reflected growing concern among youth organisations over what they described as alleged human rights violations in Tolikara.
“Several youth organisations in Tolikara have come together to voice our concerns over the alleged human rights violations that occurred at Puncak Mega. Shootings like this must not continue. There have already been 11 such cases, including the killing of Krona Penggu. We did not speak out over the previous 10 cases, but today we are demanding that every one of them be fully investigated,” Kogoya said.
He said Tolikara has long been regarded as one of the more stable regencies in Papua Highlands, making the continued fatal shootings of civilians particularly alarming. He urged the regional legislature and local government to take concrete steps to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
The demonstration’s field coordinator, Fraz Wandik Kulungga, said Penggu’s killing should not be viewed as an isolated incident, noting that several Tolikara residents had been killed in similar shootings in recent years.
He described the incidents as alleged human rights violations and urged law enforcement authorities to investigate those responsible in accordance with Indonesian law.
The protesters also called on the Tolikara legislature to establish a special committee to oversee the legal process surrounding Penggu’s death.
In addition, they voiced opposition to several government initiatives, including a proposed National Strategic Project involving a 300-hectare cocoa plantation in Wari and Dow districts, plans to establish Indonesian military posts in Biuk, Nabunage, Longgoboma, and Arombok districts, and the government’s Red and White Cooperative programme.
DPRK Deputy Speaker Wes Kogoya said the council had accepted all of the demonstrators’ demands.
“The people of Tolikara came to the DPRK office to hold a peaceful demonstration, and the entire event proceeded peacefully. They came seeking justice over the shooting at Puncak Mega. As representatives of the people, we have received all of the aspirations conveyed today,” he said.
Kogoya said the council was committed to ensuring the concerns raised by residents would be followed up through the appropriate legal channels.
“We hope these concerns receive serious attention from all relevant authorities. We will continue to oversee this matter so that it is properly resolved through the legal process, in line with the community’s demands,” he said.
In its formal statement, the Tolikara Youth and People’s Front urged Indonesian law enforcement authorities to conduct a professional, transparent, and accountable investigation into members of the Cartenz Peace Task Force who are alleged to have been involved in Penggu’s shooting, in accordance with Indonesia’s Human Rights Law.
The coalition also called for all cases of deadly violence in Tolikara to be investigated impartially and without impunity. It condemned all forms of violence, intimidation, discrimination, unlawful killings, and actions that it said contravene the principles of the rule of law and human rights.
The group further urged the Tolikara legislature to establish a special committee to oversee the investigation into Penggu’s death and warned that, if their demands are ignored, they will organise larger peaceful demonstrations in the future. (*)
