CANBERRA, Australia, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A Papua New Guinea independence movement says an Australia-funded police unit is at the center of recent beatings, arrests and killings of its members.
The group, West Papua National Committee, known as KNPB, charges the unit, known as Detachment 88, has even planted bomb-making materials in activists' homes to make it appear the group has violent intentions, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday.
Eight people in West Papua were arrested during the weekend and KNPB leader Victor Yeimo said Detachment 88 was involved.
Yeimo rejected claims by Indonesian police that bomb-making materials were found during a recent raid, saying that his group is non-violent.
The Institute for Human Rights Advocacy in West Papua says it has studied the arrests and believes bombs recovered by police were planted.
Cammi Webb-Gannon, from the University of Sydney's West Papua project, shares that view, saying members of the independence group "don't have the capacity to gain the materials."
"I don't think KNPB has any reason to be making bombs because they believe in a peaceful approach to pursuing independence, they want a referendum on independence in West Papua," she added.
Detachment 88 is trained and funded by Australia as part of counter-terrorism operations.
