Blasius Sumaghai beaten by Indonesian Navy Officers

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Blasius Sumaghai (23 years old), a resident of Bade village, Edera District, Mappi, Papua has been beaten by members of the Indonesian Navy. The reasons for the beating were not clear.
According to information compiled by majalahselangkah.com, Blasius Sumaghai, the son of the late Abraham Sumaghai who was an Awyu community leader, was beaten by several Navy officers on the 26th January 2014. The beating meant that Blasius Sumaghai was unable to walk for four days. He is still in a fairly serious state of trauma.
The incident reportedly started as Blasius Sumaghai was seated outside a kiosk on Jalan Duyumu in Bade Village. Suddenly two Navy officers who were stationed at the Bade Navy outpost showed up. They showed no initial courtesy, just directly started striking the victim on his back and chest using the butts of their rifles
After the beating, our source said that the victim was brought to the Navy outpost on a motorbike. On arrival at the outpost, he was beaten over his whole body using rifle butts and hosepipes. He suffered serious injuries.
It is reported that Blasius Sumaghai is not the only person to have suffered violent harrassment at the hands of the Navy. Yustinus Akabagaimu, the 27-year-old son of local teacher Xaverius Akabagaimu, has also been beaten up without any clear reason.
Yustinus is currently unable to walk as a result of the beating he received. Several victims of harassment are unable to bring a case against the perpetrators either because of fear or because they don’t know to whom they should bring their complaint.
Majalah Selangkah‘s credible informant has said that that members of the security forces have often carried out beatings of young men in Bade when residents have reported that the men have done something wrong.
“But that’s what the police are for. What is Bade Police station doing? The police are clearly tasked with maintaining law and order. The Navy’s role is to fight wars against other countries. Why should the navy take over the Police’s job right in front of their face? It’s very strange”, said the aforementioned source, sounding surprised.
The police in the Bade Police Station reportedly cannot be counted upon to maintain law and order in the area. As the community were celebrating Christmas 2009, the festive season which should be full of happiness was tainted by the murder of a young local man, Stefanus Silooy (38). He was killed by three police officers. This incident ended up with the community destroying the local police station.
In fact, a naval outpost in Bade is not strategic for national defence, because Bade is located on the shore of the Digoel River, and not on the coast. The town should really be guarded by a water-borne police unit. So why is the Indonesian Navy present in Bade? Actually they are there to demand tribute from plywood and palm oil companies: the Korindo group in Asiki which has been operating since the nineties and PT MAM* which has recently commenced operations near Bade.
Bade is a strategic port town, because all the plywood and Crude Palm Oil produced by PT Korindo in Asiki can only be transported by one route, the Digoel River. Bade represents the entrance and exit to this river system.