From INFOPAPUA.ORG
Bintang Papua: Security force should not be discriminatory in applying subversion law; Call for release of all Papuan political prisoners
By Bintang Papua, 22 June 2010
Jun 25, 2010, 00:24
Bintang Papua: Security force should not be discriminatory in applying subversion law; Call for release of all Papuan political prisoners
Bintang Papua, 22 June 2010
Security forces urged not to be selective in applying subversive law
In the wake of a statement made yesterday by Wachyono, the head of public relations of the police force in Papua, to the effect that people demanding that a referendum be held, which was one of the recommendations of the MRP, need not be charged under the subversion - 'makar' - law, Buchtar Tabuni, the chairman of the National Committee of West Papua- KNPB - said that this statement had puzzled him. He saw this as an act of discrimination by the police towards himself and his colleagues.
He said, in a statement released to the press, that what he and his associates had done some time ago was no different from what the MRP masses had done, yet why was it that they had been incarcerated in prison, while the MRP masses were considered only to have expressed their aspirations.
He said that when he was tried in court, the judges could produce no evidence that they were doing anything subversive. 'Who did I incite? Did I spread anarchy? Was anyone harmed? What implements did I use? Yet, I was sentenced to three years in prison.'
He said however that he was thankful for the statement by Wachyono, published in yesterday's edition of Bintang Papua, as it could be seen as a lesson for the law enforcement authorities, the police, the attorney's office and the high court in Papua, who need to ensure that there is space for democracy.
'I would like to call for all charges against Viki Yeimo and friends to be withdrawn because what they were doing was expressing their aspirations. It's enough for me to have been victimised,' he said.
He said he had made the same point to the regional office of law and human rights but they had never responded.
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Release all Papuan political prisoners, like in Aceh
Jayapura: The Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has been urged to release all political prisoners throughout Papua, considering that following the Helsinki agreement reached in 2005 with GAM , the central government released all those who had been involved in GAM. There are many political prisoners being held in prisons throughout Papua as well as in Java.
The lawyer, Pieter Eli SH, confirmed to Bintang Papua that the chairman of the KNPB Buchtar Tabuni said that the people involved in the MRP demonstration in Jayapura last week demanding a referendum should be arrested and charged by the police which is what happened to them when they were charged with makar and incitement and for calling for independence for the Papuan people, but now the police were behaving differently. He said that there was no need to arrest people for making political speeches.
He said that Buchtar Tabuni and his colleagues were victims of the lack of professionalism on the part of the security forces, just like the president, because of the discriminatory way they uphold the law and human rights in Papua. The actions taken by the security forces in Papua in political cases in Papua were related to the policy of the Indonesian president who has failed to grant clemency to political prisoners in the Land of Papua.
[The demands were made for the release of 'tapol' and 'napol', the former referring to political detainees, and the latter to prisoners who have already been convicted and sentenced.]
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