Suara Pembaruan Daily: Staff Shake-Up Before Biak Massacre (July 4th, 1998)
Days before the Biak massacre, there was a major shake-up of high-level military personnel at the TNI Regional Command Center VIII/Trikora in Jayapura. This Suara Pembaruan article features an interview with TNI Major General Amir Sembiring, who state: it is “true that the flag which they had raised two days ago on the water tower...
The Guardian: Fishermen Find Bound Bodies (July 30th, 1998)
Fishermen sailing near the Island of Biak have been hauling in bodies…Two bodies were netted on July 9. They had holes in their heads. Then eight days later, four others were found, bound together with their wrists tied. They were handed over to the military and have not been seen since. On Monday, six more...
Names Without Graves, Graves Without Names (Elsham Papua-July 1999)
Elsham, a local human rights organization, produced a 69 page report in Indonesian about the massacre titled “Names Without Graves, Graves Without Names.” The report called for an international investigation, but no human rights organizations followed up on their call. This report has a preliminary list of people who were killed, wounded, or disappeared on...
Human Rights Commission to Police Chief: Locate the Body of Ruben Orboi (July 20th, 1998)
Ruben Orboi was the first victim of the Biak massacre whose identity was reported in the news media. Octovianus Mote first broke this story in Kompas newspaper. This article from Suara Pembaruan Daily is an official call from the Indonesian government’s own human rights commission, to find Ruben’s body, which had been disappeared. SUARA PEMBARUAN...
Verdict Announced
The Citizens Tribunal announced its findings on Monday, 16 December, 2013. These findings were broadcast by ABC News 7:30. Our findings were also featured in The Guardian and news.co.au Biak Massacre Citizens’ Tribunal Verdict Monday 16 December 2013 (Download the official Tribunal Verdict as a PDF here) On 6 July 2013 at the request of...
Mama Tineke Returns Home
Mrs. Tineke Rumakabu, a victim of the extreme violence of the Biak massacre, was divorced by her first husband because of the shame he felt after her rape and torture. Mama Tineke then had to leave her village and children. In January 2013, I first met Mama Tineke. She now lives with her new husband...
