Jayapura, Jubi – Lawmaker of Papua Legislative Council John NR Gobai has demanded the XVII Cenderawasih Military Command’s Military Police to immediately release the results of their investigation on the disappearance of Sem Kobogau, a 51-year-old man and resident of Bunagopa Village, Ugimba District, Intan Jaya Regency.
Kobogau went missing on Oct. 5, 2021, after allegedly being taken by soldiers.
As the military police had deployed a team to probe the case, Gobai urged the military police to inform the public about the results. “The XVII Cenderawasih Military Command has sent the military police to Intan Jaya. Therefore, we’re asking the military police to be transparent regarding the investigation results. They must open the information to the public,” Gobai told Jubi on Thursday, Oct. 21.
According to Gobai, Kobogau’s family and the residents of Bunagopa Village continued to question the whereabouts of Sem Kobogau. Residents are worried if something grave happened to him.
“The people of Intan Jaya are still traumatized by the violence that has occurred [in the region] so far. The community saw two young men, Luther Zanambani and Apinus Zanambani, went missing last year, whose whereabouts are unknown to date,” Gobai said, adding that Kobogau’s family and neighbors were worried that Sem Kobogau would suffer the same fate as the Zanambani brothers, who had been missing since April 2020.
The residents of Bunagopa have tried to contact the Intan Jaya Police, asking about Kobogau’s whereabouts but to no avail.
Previously, XVII Cenderawasih Military Command’s head of Information Col. Reza Nur Patria said that if the investigation found the involvement of Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel, the soldier-perpetrator would be prosecuted according to law. (*)
Reporter: Arjuna Pademme
Editor: Edho Sinaga
