( CNN ) -- Members of the Indonesia military may have been involved in the torture of two men in the country 's province of Papua , a government official said on Friday . The incident came to light after a video surfaced showing men burning the genitals of a naked and bound man , and holding a knife to the nose and neck of another bound man on a dusty road while interrogating them . `` The investigation is still going on but initial reports I received from the armed forces commander , show that there were elements of the military who were involved in those excessive , unprofessional acts , that were clearly a violation of human rights , Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto told CNN . The video is believed to be from the Indonesian province of Papua , nearly 3,500 kilometers east of the capital , Jakarta . Papua has long had a low-level insurgency that demands independence from Indonesia , saying the government is trying to take its land to steal resources . But both victims in this case were unarmed farmers , the Alliance of Papuan students told CNN . The scenes were recorded on a cell phone , and the imagery brought stiff condemnation from human rights groups who believe the video is possible evidence of Indonesian armed forces torturing members of independence movements . Human rights groups say that while they have n't determined the authenticity of the video , they have clues that the persecutors are members of the Indonesian armed forces . For example , the weapon being used in the video appears to be a standard military issue and the questions posed by the interrogators are consistent with those of Indonesian security forces , said Phil Robertson , deputy director of Human Rights Watch 's Asia division . Human Rights Watch is concerned that the government will let the case linger without a resolution . Another video surfaced this year showing a disemboweled Papuan political activist being taunted by men in police uniforms . Police denied allegations that their forces disemboweled him . They said he was injured in a firefight , and no officer has been disciplined in that incident . The indigenous Free Papua Movement was established in 1965 to push for the secession of Papua from Indonesia . The group disputed the terms under which Papua became a part of Indonesia that year . Papua has the largest gold mine in the world , operated by the U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold , but members of the freedom movement say locals have not received fair economic benefits from any of the mining operations on their homeland .
A spokesman says both victims were unarmed civilians . Initial reports cite human rights violations . Tajikistan has a low - level independence insurgency .