•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

Jakarta. Authorities have denied accusations that the National Police’s antiterror unit, Densus 88, tortured suspected members of a separatist group in Maluku.

“It is impossible. We have strict protocols and procedures,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Marwoto Soeto told the Jakarta Globe on Monday, in response to torture allegations raised by rights watchdogs.

He said police officers “took the necessary measures” when they seized the men, some of whom resisted arrest.

“It is possible that they were injured during one of the raids, particularly if the officers suspected them to be armed and dangerous,” Marwoto said.

At least 21 people were arrested between Aug. 1 and 7 in Ambon and the adjacent city of Saparua in Maluku.

Police accused the suspects of attempting to raise the banned South Maluku Republic (RMS) flag during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit to the province on Aug. 3.

Semuel Wailaruny, from the Maluku People’s Advocacy Team, said a number of people had been taken to Densus 88’s provincial office in Ambon, where members of the unit exerted violence during police interrogations.

“They were blindfolded with duct tape and scarves so that they would not be able to see their attackers,” Semuel told the Globe on Monday. “They were beaten. Their heads were slammed [against] walls and they were kicked in the stomach.”

“One of them, Yonias Siahaya, was left a cripple. He is paralyzed from the waist down,” he said.

The Australian government has sent officials to investigate the claims. Densus 88 receives millions of dollars in funds from Australia each year to combat extremism in Indonesia.

“The Australian government is aware of and concerned by the allegations of brutality [raised by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch] toward political prisoners,” a foreign affairs official said in a statement.

“Australian Embassy officials [in] Jakarta have made inquiries with the Indonesian National Police, including during a recent visit to Ambon, where these allegations were discussed with both government and civil society representatives,” the official said.

The Sydney Morning Herald ran statements from seven of the alleged separatists. One of the men, who was recovering at a hospital, said that police officers jumped on the detainees and put plastic bags over their heads so they could not breathe.

Another detainee said he was forced to eat raw chilies, while two others said they were told to hug and kiss, and were beaten when they refused.

“We were all tortured beyond the limit. And during the torture, if we mentioned the name of the Lord Jesus, we would be punched and slapped,” one of the detainees was quoted as saying.

Semuel said those arrested were not armed and had meant to hold a peaceful protest during the president’s visit, which was scheduled to coincide with Sail Banda 2010, an international maritime event.

“The activists were planning to use [Yudhoyono’s visit] as an opportunity to disseminate posters, books and other materials related to alleged human rights violations in Maluku because the Sail Banda event also attracted a lot of foreign dignitaries and journalists,” he said.

“Some of them didn’t even participate in the plot. They were caught carrying pieces of fabric, which [the] police suspected were going to be used to assemble the RMS flag, which was not true,” Semuel said.

Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the United States were among the countries that participated in Sail Banda, which was organized to showcase how Maluku had overcome years of sectarian conflict.

Maluku Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Johanis Buai, however, said the suspected separatists were planning to float dozens of RMS flags attached to helium-filled balloons during the event.

He said the police were still investigating the case, which will be forwarded to the prosecutors’ office this month.

In 2007, a group of RMS activists posing as a dance troupe entered Ambon’s Merdeka Stadium, where Yudhoyono was hosting a Family Day celebration.

The group performed the cakalele, a traditional war dance, before unfurling a nine-meter-long RMS flag hidden inside a drum, as a stunned and angry Yudhoyono looked on.

Police officers brutally beat up the activists involved in the 2007 incident, according to London-based Amnesty International.

On Monday, one of the activists involved in the stunt, Yusuf Sipakoly, died after years of internal bleeding and kidney failure, which his family said was caused by police beatings during his interrogation and detention. He was 52.

Yusuf was sentenced to 12 years in prison for treason. Despite complaining about his health, he was repeatedly denied medical attention.

Concerned groups have long urged the police to respect the rights of prisoners during questioning or detention to avoid human rights violations.