Ivo Cappo
Encyclopedia
Ivo Cappo was a Papua New Guinea
n court magistrate
. He was originally from Laiagam District in the Enga Province
of Papua New Guinea
.
, Port Moresby
, in the early morning of October 20, 2007 at approximately 2:30 A.M. Cappo reportedly lost control of the vehicle he was driving and crashed his car into an illegal refugee camp
outside of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
in the Ela Beach section of the city near the downtown. Cappo's car destroyed several tents and narrowly missed many women and children, but no one from the camp was apparently hurt in the accident. The camp was filled with West Papuan refugees from the western Indonesia
n half of New Guinea
. Cappo was attacked and stoned to death by several refugees as well as other bystanders when he got out of his car after the accident. His passengers were able to escape.
The refugees in the illegal settlement were all from Indonesian West Papua.
The West Papuans had set up the camp outside the Port Moresby office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) to protests the commission's refusal to relocate them to a third country. The camp had been set up four weeks prior to the accident and the attack on Cappo. The UNHCR had previously refused to relocate the West Papuan refugees to a country outside of Indonesia
or Papua New Guinea because it does not consider their lives in danger back in Indonesia.
Five people were charged with the attack and murder of Ivo Cappo. The alleged attackers included four West Papuan immigrants: Arnold Kafair, 19, from Raur village; David Koivi, 19, from Pemoi village; Christopher Waromi, 23, from Ambai village; and John Dimara, 23, from Urfu village. (All of their home villages are in Indonesia West Papua.) The fifth man charged in Cappo's death was a Papua New Guinean police officer
, Micky Lausi, 35, from Uritai village in the Gulf Province
, PNG. So called payback attacks are still widespread throughout Papua New Guinea and the rest of New Guinea.
Ivo Cappo, who was 55 when he was killed, was survived by his wife and nine children.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
n court magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
. He was originally from Laiagam District in the Enga Province
Enga Province
Enga refers to both an ethnic group located in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and the province in which they are the majority ethnic group.-Physical geography:...
of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
.
Attack
Cappo was driving through PNG's capital cityCapital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
, Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, in the early morning of October 20, 2007 at approximately 2:30 A.M. Cappo reportedly lost control of the vehicle he was driving and crashed his car into an illegal refugee camp
Refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, or NGOs.Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu...
outside of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
in the Ela Beach section of the city near the downtown. Cappo's car destroyed several tents and narrowly missed many women and children, but no one from the camp was apparently hurt in the accident. The camp was filled with West Papuan refugees from the western Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n half of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. Cappo was attacked and stoned to death by several refugees as well as other bystanders when he got out of his car after the accident. His passengers were able to escape.
The refugees in the illegal settlement were all from Indonesian West Papua.
The West Papuans had set up the camp outside the Port Moresby office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
(UNHCR) to protests the commission's refusal to relocate them to a third country. The camp had been set up four weeks prior to the accident and the attack on Cappo. The UNHCR had previously refused to relocate the West Papuan refugees to a country outside of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
or Papua New Guinea because it does not consider their lives in danger back in Indonesia.
Five people were charged with the attack and murder of Ivo Cappo. The alleged attackers included four West Papuan immigrants: Arnold Kafair, 19, from Raur village; David Koivi, 19, from Pemoi village; Christopher Waromi, 23, from Ambai village; and John Dimara, 23, from Urfu village. (All of their home villages are in Indonesia West Papua.) The fifth man charged in Cappo's death was a Papua New Guinean police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
, Micky Lausi, 35, from Uritai village in the Gulf Province
Gulf Province
Gulf Province is a province of Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast. The provincial capital is Kerema. The 34,500 km² province is dominated by mountains, lowland river deltas, and grassland flood plains, the Kikori, Turama, Purari and Vailala rivers all meet the sea known as the...
, PNG. So called payback attacks are still widespread throughout Papua New Guinea and the rest of New Guinea.
Ivo Cappo, who was 55 when he was killed, was survived by his wife and nine children.
External links
- Radio New Zealand International: Four Papuans charged over shocking death of PNG magistrate
- Radio Australia: Papuans fear for safety in PNG Capital
- Reuters: PNG magistrate stoned to death for car crash
- The Western Australian: PNG magistrate stoned to death
- The National: Urgent relocation of refugees urged
- The National: Friends, relatives pay their last respects to Cappo
- The National: Numapo slams attack on Cappo