TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Government will act on a report of Komnas HAM on alleged human rights violations in Paniai, Papua, on December 7 and 8, 2014, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD stated. The process to make the report transparent to the public would be followed up, Mahfud assured.

"The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), is a state institution established under the law. Its authority is based on the law. I assure that it (the report) would be followed up, and not secretly," Mahfud said at the Presidential Palace Complex on Wednesday.

The transparent process would allow the public to monitor the progress of the case, he added.

"If there are any difficulties, people should know it. This is democratic statesmanship," he noted.

However, the minister refused to comment further on the issue as he had yet to receive an official report. He would study the report once he received it, he said.

"After we receive (the report) we can make a follow-up, study it, and whether we can proceed to the next move. We will see to this later," he said.

Komnas HAM in its plenary session on February 3 has categorized the Paniai incident on December 7 and 8, 2014 in Papua as a serious human rights violation.

The commission has conducted investigations from 2015 to 2020, interviewed 26 witnesses, examined the scene in Enarotali, Paniai District, studied related documents and sought the opinion of experts.

"After a thorough discussion in the plenary session, we have decided by acclamation that the Paniai incident on December 7 and 8, 2014 was a serious human rights violation," Komnas HAM chief Ahmad Taufan Damanik said in a statement.

The case met the criteria of a systematic, widespread attack against the civilian population during the incident, the commission's investigation concluded.

The investigation team concluded that members of the XVII/ Cendrawasih military command and sub-commands in Enarotali were responsible for the killing of four young men. Twenty-one indigenous Papuans sustained injuries as the security forces opened fire at the crowd. The ad-hoc team also found indications of violations committed by members of the police. However, these violations could not be categorized as serious human rights violations.

Komnas HAM submitted the results of the investigation to the Attorney General on February 11, 2020.

ANTARA