AHRC: Authorities refuse to treat political prisoner with tumour
January 27, 2012
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-008-2012
ISSUES: Indigenous people; inhuman and degrading treatment; prison conditions
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the condition of Kimanus Wenda, a political prisoner at Nabire prison, Papua, who has a tumor in his stomach and must be operated on. Although Indonesian law clearly notes that it is the state’s obligation to provide medical fees, the Papua legal and human rights department is refusing to pay for Mr. Wenda’s surgery due to a lack of funds. Moreover, the goverment is now claiming that Mr. Wenda does not require surgery, although local activists found the opposite to be true.
CASE NARRATIVE:
According to the information received from KontraS, ALDP and SKPHP, on April 4, 2003, at around 1am, there was a burglary at 1702/ Jayawijaya Wamena military district staff headquarters armory.
Eight perpetrators were arrested in connection to this theft: Yafrai Murib, Numbungga Telenggen, Enos Lokobal, Linus Hiluka, Kanius Murib, Kimanus Wenda, Des Wenda and Mikael Haselo. On January 15, 2004, according to the verdict declared by the Wamena district court, all the victims were found guilty for rebellion under articles 106 and 110 of the Criminal Code. Yafrai Murib and Numbungga Telenggen were sentenced to lifetime imprisonment, while the others were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Civil society considers this verdict to not be based on legal facts.
Since 2010, Mr. Wenda has had a tumor in his stomach and is constantly vomiting. He informed the health staff at Nabire prison but was not given any adequate response. On February 2, 2011, the Nabire hospital issued a reference letter regarding Mr. Wenda’s sickness and the need for him to be operated at Jayapura hospital. Two days later, Mr. Wenda’s legal counsel sent a medical leave letter to the head of Papua’s regional office of law and human rights and the head of Nabire prison, but received no response. On September 19, SKPHP met the head of Papua legal and human rights department but the department said it has no money and thus cannot pay for Mr. Wenda’s operation. This violates Indonesian law under Indonesian Government Regulation No. 32/1999 on Terms and Procedures on the Implementation of Prisoners’ Rights in Prisons, which states that it is a state obligation to provide medical fees and treatment. While civil society is now gathering funds to pay for the operation in Jayapura hospital, it is not yet enough.
Furthermore, on December 16, at the hearings between KontraS and the ministry of law and human rights, the staff of Nabire prison said that based on their report and the statement of the prison chief, Mr. Wenda was seen playing volley ball in prison and therefore his stomach tumour is not dangerous and does not need to be operated in Jayapura hospital. However, on December 21, when local activists brought Mr. Wenda to be examined at Nabire hospital, John, the surgery doctor who examined Mr. Wenda, stated that the tumour is severe and should be operated as soon as possible. The government denial to treat Mr. Wenda has resulted in much civil society concern about his safety.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The AHRC has recorded that political prisoners, especially in Papua, face ill-treatment and torture in prison, as in the case of Fendinand Pakage, who was tortured by a Abepura prison officer in 2008, resulting in permanent damage to his right eye, and in the case of Buchtar Tabuni in 2009, also beaten and tortured by a Abepura prison officer. Political prisoners’ rights are bare fulfilled, especially the right to health, as seen by Filep Karma, who was neglected at Dok II Jayapura hospital although his ureter should be operated.
Furthermore, on August 28, 2007, Mikael Haselo, a political prisoner arrested and charged in the same case as Mr. Wenda, died after being treated at Bayangkara hospital, Makasar, South Sulawesi, due to the complication of some diseases, such as cough, enteritis, bronchitis and lung inflammation.
for suggested actions please visit http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-008-2012
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Buchtar Tabuni released from prison
Buchar Tabuni was released from Abepura prison on August 17 in Jayapura, West Papua. He was imprisoned after taking part in a peaceful demonstration in October 2008 supporting the launch of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) in the UK Parliament.
Many other political prisoners remain in prison, including Filep Karma, serving 15 years for raising the banned Morning Star flag.
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Buchtar: Some Papuan political prisoners dont receive enough attention
Wednesday 22 June 2011
<http://www.aldepe.com/2011/06/buchtar-tapol-papua-kurang-diperhatikan.html>
ALDP
Buchtar Tabuni, a Papuan political prisoner now being held in Jayapura, has complained that some Papuan political prisoners are not being given enough attention by NGOs and religious organisations. They are focusing most of their attention on particular political prisoners while others are being neglected.
‘ The NGOs have so far failed to give proper attention to some of us political prisoners, while paying attention to certain prisoners, in partiulcar’ said Buchtar Tabuni. He expressed this opinion on Monday, 20 June at the Narcotics Prison in Doyo Baru, Sentani, Jayapura, where he is being held.
‘Sometimes they pay us no attention at all, even though we are also political prisoners, he said. ‘
‘This is happening not only in Jayapura but also elsewhere in Papua. Almost all our colleagues have the same experience., he said. He thought that this problem should be discussed to ensure that NGOs and religious organisations play a role in all this.
He said that he regretted the attitude of the NGOs. Local as well as international NGOs are doing a lot of campaigning about convicted prisoners and political prisoners in Papua but they are not paying enough attention to most of us.’ Buchtar himself is apparently quite unwell and is suffering from malaria.
He said that he hoped that more attention would be paid to all the convicted prisoners (napi) as well as all the political prisoners, including not only those in Jayapura but elsewhere in Papua too. ‘We should all get proper attention,’ he said. (ALDP)
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The hope for Papua’s freedom: ‘Go International’
Apologies for delay in posting
Tuesday, 03 May 2011 19:58
Editor : Markus
Tabloid JUBI — The struggle of the native people of Papua for freedom from all the evils they have suffered since their annexation into the Unitary Republic of Indonesia on 3rd May 1963, still echo to this day, not only on the local and national scene, but already internationally.
“At this time, our hopes for freedom for the People of West Papua depend on the support of the world. Privately and through our own organisations we are struggling, but now we have the help and sympathy of all the countries of the world,” said the Head of the National Committee of West Papua, Mako Tabuni, on Tuesday 3rd May 2011.
Support from the international world is growing and becoming stronger,for example from Israel. This is a long campaign, and this is the way to do it – by gaining friends. “The problems of West Papua are also world problems, and Indonesia has to open itself up to recognise the truths of its history, of what happened some decades ago,” said Mako.
The formation of two bodies called International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) and International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP), said Mako, came about as a result of the world’s notice and support for West Papua. ‘We are being well supported by the ILWP and the IPWP, which are fighting for the fate of West Papua.”
He said this as on the day after Monday 2nd May, when thousands of people had marched peacefully to assemble at the Post Office in Abepura, Jayapura.
The KNPB (National Committee) had emphasised several important points which are tied to our history, status and the sad fate of the people of Papua.
Firstly, the people of West Papua have not, did not nor ever will give their consent to join the Unitary Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) to become a part of their republic, West Papua.
Secondly, the process of making West Papua part of the NKRI, beginning in 1963 and finishing in 1969, organised jointly by Indonesia, United States of America, the Netherlands and the United Nations, was engineered as a false process, not following the Principles of international justice. The owners of the area of West Papua were never involved in the process, and the international talks and arrangements took no account of their wishes.
Thirdly, the agreement called “The New York Agreement” was not supervised by the whole of the United Nations, resulting in the “referendum” of 1969, where the people of West Papua were not given their political right to vote on the basis of “one person, one vote”; this “vote” consisted of only 1025 people chosen by Indonesia to “represent” West Papua. This is a violation against the political rights of the people of West Papua.
Fourthly, NKRI has killed and destroyed many of the native citizens of West Papua since they began their DOM (Local Military Operation) to take up possession of the land of West Papua in 1963.
Fifthly, NKRI has pursued, intimidated, terrorised and killed many of the citizens of WP since this operation began.
Sixthly, Special Autonomy was offered as a solution to these problems. This policy was never really implemented as promised and published as policy by Indonesia.
Seventh, the only thing which is supporting Special Autonomy, which is the one thing the NKRI is offering, is part of their colonisation of Papua which nullifies the political rights of the native people of Papua, because the foremost problem for them is their right to determine their own future for themselves, which has been suppressed and undermined by the unilateral annexation of Papua through the so-called Act of Free Choice of 1969.
“We do not recognise the right of the Government of Indonesia, and all the institutions of that country, to stand in the nation of West Papua,” said Mako Tabuni, reading from a petition which had been signed by the whole assembly which had attended the march.
What we, the KNPB, are demanding is, firstly: that Indonesia stop all political manoeuvres using the Special Autonomy, formation of the MRP and the UP$B program in the land of West Papua.
Secondly, Indonesia and West Papua be the subject of an international legal process so that the political status of West Papua can be brought to the table at the International Cpurt, to determine a just policy about the validity of Indonesia’s annexation of the land of West Papua, and a justice for the people of West Papua.
Thirdly, in order to determine the will of the people of West Papua, a Referendum be held in a democratic way by the United Nations, to find a final solution to the political conflict in West Papua.
To find a framework to support this process to end the problems in West Papua via an international legal and political process, the KNPB puts forward the name of Ms. Melinda Janki as Head of the ILWP, Mr. Charles Foster and all the members of the ILWP.
Also, Mr. Andrew Smith as Head of the IPWP, Mr. Caroline Lucas together with all members of the IPWP to support the political process to bring the matter before an internasional forum, together with the support of a free Papua. Also, the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu, as a member of the United Nations, also gives a similar mandate to determine the legal status of West Papua through an international legal process at the International Court of Justice.
At the same time, the Spokesperson of the International KNPB, Victor Yeimo, can be a representative and coordinator to express the hopes and expectations of the people of West Papua. For this to happen, we need to form a representative body: a National Council of West Papua.
“It is not just anyone, it is the people of Papua alone who can bring about freedom. So, let us, the people of this land, come together and work and struggle,” said Yeimo.
About twenty Papuan representatives who addressed the assembly signed a petition before the demonstration ended at about 6 pm.
(Markus)
Buchtar Tabuni complains to police chief about his treatment
LETTER OF COMPLAINT FROM BUCHTAR TABUNI TO THE CHIEF OF POLICE IN PAPUA
Police Isolation Cell, 18 January, 2011
To:
Police-General Bekto Suprapto,
With respect,
With regard to my detention in a police isolation cell for almost two
months, I wish to raise the following problems with the Chief of Police
in Papua:
1. Will the police in Papua explain what my status is, whether I am a
detainee (tapol) or a convicted political prisoner (narapidana). If I am
being held as a detainee in connection with the riot that occurred in
Abepura Prison on 3 December 2010, I ask to be given an arrest warrant
by the police for the period that I have been held in a police isolation
cell . And whether what I myself did together with Filep Karma at the
time of the riot was not in fact an attempt to calm things down while
trying to be a link between the prison officers and the prisoners who
were involved in the riot. If my status is that of a narapidana, I
hereby ask to be transferred to Abepura Prison Class IIA. This is
because being held in an isolation cell by the police in Papua has had
the following very damaging consequences for me:
a) My father, Jen Tabuni, who was 54 years old, passed away on
Sunday, 9 January 2011 in Papani Kampung, in the Papuan interior. The
cause of death was that, after hearing that I had been taken from a
police cell and thinking that I had been kidnapped, he suffered a
stroke, fainted and died. This was because there was no information
about my whereabouts after I had been separated and placed in an
isolation cell by the Papuan police, without any clear reason being
given for this;
b) Ever since being separated and held in an isolation cell of the
Papuan Police, I have not received any edible food and on some
occasions, I have not been given any food and drink at all, as a result
of which I have been drinking the water in the tub in the bathroom. The
lack of decent food and drink has given me serious gastric problems;
c) My body is turning yellow and I often feel giddy when I stand up.
This is because of the lack of sunlight, the lack of vegetables and
because the vegetables I do eat are boiled as a result of which I am
anaemic as well as suffering from gastritis which means that my health
is deteriorating.
2. If the police here in Papua fail to respond speedily to my
complaints, I will go on hunger strike until my complaints are dealt with.
Letter of complaint from:
Buchtar Tabuni
Papuan political prisoner
Buchtar Tabuni
Buchtar Tabuni and friends are still in police custody
[Slightly abridged in translation by TAPOL]
Bintang Papua, 30 December 2010
Buchtar Tabuni and friends are still in police custody
Jayapura:
Two convicted prisoners charged with treason [makar], Buchtar Tabuni and Filep Karma, along with three other prisoners, Dominggus Pulalo, Alex Elopere and Lopes Katubaba are still in police custody. Buchtar and the others are in police custody and face charges of causing damage and incitement in Abepura Prison on 3 December 2010.
Confirming this in a press release on the security situation at the end
of 2010, Police Inspector-General Bekto Suprapto said that although
Buchtar and his colleagues were convicted prisoners and already serving sentences in Abepura Prison , they now had the additional status of facing new charges. ‘This means that their sentences will certainly be increased,’ he said. (sic)
The police chief said that with their removal from Abepura Prison,
conditions at Abepura Prison had improved. It was much easier now to
keep control of the prisoners in Abepura than it was when Buchtar and
the others were there, he was quoted as saying. ‘We have received
reports that the prison inmates are easier to control, they are more
obedient and now do as they are told, whereas before they were not easy to control.’
He said this was an indication that Buchtar and the others had been
inciting the other prisoners to be disobedient.
Asked about the number of prisoners who had escaped from the prison, he said that they were all on the wanted list [DPO] and their capture was the top priority for 2011 but he did not mention the number of prisoners involved. According to information from other sources, at least fifty prisoners have escaped from the prison.
He said that Buchtar and the others would face several new charges such as causing damage (Article 170) and incitement (Article 160), and could face up to seven years in prison.
When Bintang Papua requested permission to take photos of Buchtar and his friends in police custody, this was refused. The police officer said that this would only infuriate the general public.
As previously reported, Buchtar and his friends [allegedly] caused
damage after an inmate Wiron Wetipo disappeared from the prison and was shot dead by a joint patrol of the police and the army, while they were raiding a house in Tanah Hitam which is suspected as being the
headquarters of the OPM/TPN.
On hearing that Wiron had been shot dead, the six persons [not five
which is the number of names given in this article] now face charges for causing damage and inciting the other prisoners.
Filep Karma is serving a 15-year sentence while Buchtar is serving three years. The other prisoners are serving sentences of two or three years.
[Note how this senior police has no doubt that Buchtar and Karma will
be found guilty of the new charges they face. Such is the rule of law in Indonesia. - TAPOL]
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KontraS Papua: Press release on Recent Problems in Abepura Prison
KontraS (Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence) Papua, SKPHP (Solidarity of Victims of Human Rights Violations in Papua) and the Lawyers Team
The Department of Law and Human Rights and Abepura Prison must take responsibility Legal Processes will not solve the problems in Abepura Prison.
The clarification made to the media by the public relations department of the Police Force in Papua, Police Commissioner Wahchyono, that Buchtar Tabuni, Filep Karma, Dominggus Pulalo, Alex Elopere and Danny Lopez Karubaba are now suspects is incorrect because their status should be as witnesses in a criminal case in which acts of violence were perpetrated against certain individuals and material goods, as stipulated in Article 170 of the Criminal Code.
The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) Papua and their lawyers believe that the legal procedures now being taken by the Provincial Police Force in Papua regarding Buchtar Tabuni and his associates reflect a failure of the Department of Law and Human Rights and the Abepura Prison to create feelings of tranquillity among prisoners being held in Abepura Prison.
It should be noted that on 3 December 2010, five inmates escaped from the prison, as a result of which one of the inmates, Wiron Wetiipo was shot and fatally wounded but we have not yet received any information about the legal procedures that are now in progress.
This is not the first time that inmates are reported to have escaped from the prison. This should be the focus of attention revealing as it does that conditions in the prison are not in order as they have resulted in the prisoners making an escape from the prison.
It is not right for the Department of Law and Human Rights and the
prison authorities to take account only of the consequences but they should also consider the causes of these developments. In our opinion, the legal process will not be able to solve the problems
in the prison because, as stated by FORDEM in its statement of 14
December 2010 which was reported in the daily newspaper, Bintang Papua, the Director of Abepura Prsion along with fourteen members of his staff should face charges for committing acts of violence against the prisoners as this would uphold the principle of equality before the law. If legal procedures are only to be taken against Buchtar and his
associates, this is unfair and could have unfortunate consequences.
Therefore KontraS Papua and the team of lawyers make the following demands:
1. The Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights and the District Head of the Department of Law and Human Rights should take measures that are more appropriate in order to provide an atmosphere of tranquillity for the prisoners and should not focus primarily on legal procedures to resolve these problems.
2. The District Head of the Department of Law and Human Rights and the prison authorities should be transparent in explaining what actually happened so as to avoid creating a variety of perceptions in the community.
3. The Provincial Legislative Assembly of the Province of Papua
should also get involved in solving the problems in the prison, for the sake of accountability towards the community as a whole.
The five persons facing charges are:
Filep Jacob S Karma
Buchtar Tabuni
Alex Elopere
Dominggus Pulalo
Danny Lopez Karubaba
The charges against them are all as stipulated in Article 170 of the Criminal Code.
[Translated by TAPOL]
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Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni to face charges ‘for damaging public property’
According to Bintang Papua, 14 December 2010, two well known Papuan political prisoners are to face charges for alleged incitement and causing damage to the Abepura Prison.
The two men, Filep Karma who is serving a 15-year sentence, and Buchtar Tabuni who is serving a three-year sentence, were transferred from Abepura Prison to the custody of the police in Papua on 3 December. Three other prisoners who were charged under the criminal code were also transferred, Domminggus Pulalo who is serving two years, Alex Elopere who is serving three years and Lopes Karubaba who is serving two years.According to the chief of public relations of the police in Papua, Commissioner Wachyono, they will face a series of charges under Articles 170 and 160 for incitement for which they face sentences of up to seven years.
‘Let no one run away with the idea that they are immune to the law, including these six (sic) men just because they are already serving sentences,’ said Wachyono.
Wachyono said that they were now being held in cells at the police command for security reasons. ‘If they were held at the district police command (Polsek), anything undesirable could happen, especially bearing in mind that many groups in society are not happy about the men being incarcerated.’
Referring to reports that relatives of the prisoners have been prohibited from visiting the men as well as members of the central KomnasHAM, Wachyono insisted that this was untrue. ‘There are no restrictions against anyone visiting them, as long as they comply with visiting hour procedures. People should not come when the men are resting,’ he said.
[According to information from relatives of Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni, from the time of their transfer to police custody on 3 December until the present, visiting has been denied.]
As already reported, those now being charged started inflicting damage after hearing that a co-prisoner, Wiron Wetipo who had escaped from the prison was shot dead by a joint patrol of the army and the police after they had raided a house in Tanah Hitam suspected of being the headquarters of the TPN/OPM. After learning of Wiron’s death, the prisoners started causing damage and inciting other prisoners to resist the prison authorities.
[According to information from colleagues of Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni, the contrary is true. The two men, in particular Karma tried to mediate with the prisoners, urging them not to riot or cause any damage. TAPOL]
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HRW: Indonesia: Explain Transfer of Imprisoned Activists
Image via Wikipedia
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/12/10/indonesia-explain-transfer-imprisoned-activists
Release All Political Prisoners
-
“Prisoners have rights too, and ignoring those rights is no way to celebrate Human Rights Day. The authorities should explain why Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni have been thrown in a police lock-up and denied access to lawyers.”
Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch
(New York) – The Indonesian authorities should immediately allow two Papuan political prisoners and three others to fairly contest their transfer from prison to a police headquarters and permit them access to their lawyers, Human Rights Watch said today. Filep Karma, 51, and Buchtar Tabuni, 31, have been held at the Jayapura police station in West Papua since being brought there a day after a riot at Abepura prison on December 3, 2010.
On international Human Rights Day, Human Rights Watch also reiterated its call for the Indonesian government to free immediately the more than 130 Papuan and Moluccan activists imprisoned for peacefully voicing political views, and to reform laws and policies to protect freedom of expression.
“Prisoners have rights too, and ignoring those rights is no way to celebrate Human Rights Day,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should explain why Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni have been thrown in a police lock-up and denied access to lawyers.”
The Jayapura police chief, Commissionaire Imam Setiawan, told the media that the police had “secured” Karma and Tabuni at the Jayapura police station for provoking a riot that occurred at Abepura prison following an attempted prison break on December 3 in which a prisoner was shot and killed. Karma and Tabuni informed Federika Korain of the United Papuan People’s Democracy Forum (FORDEM) that they were transferred to the police station without being told that they had committed an offense.
Under the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, “[N]o prisoner shall be punished unless he has been informed of the offense alleged against him and given a proper opportunity of presenting his defense.”
Since being taken to the police station, Karma and Tabuni have requested access to their legal counsel but have been refused. On December 8, Karma’s lawyer, Harry Masturbongs, came to the station but was not allowed to meet with his client. The police have also refused to let Karma’s family visit him.
According to the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, an “imprisoned person shall be entitled to communicate and consult with his legal counsel.” The rights of an “imprisoned person to be visited by and to consult and communicate, without delay or censorship and in full confidentiality, with his legal counsel may not be suspended or restricted save in exceptional circumstances, to be specified by law or lawful regulations, when it is considered indispensable by a judicial or other authority in order to maintain security and good order.”
On December 9, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened the third Bali Democracy Forum, which is aimed at promoting regional international cooperation to foster democracy and political development among countries in Asia. President Yudhoyono said in his opening speech, “There are a lot of variants of democracy but there must be universal values and spirits within the democracy itself.” Human Rights Watch called on the Indonesian government to respect the basic right to free expression, as laid out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2006.
“Holding political prisoners is embarrassing and totally out-of-step with the image of a modern democratic state that Indonesia is trying to project,” Pearson said. “President Yudhoyono should show his commitment to basic rights by freeing people imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their political views, including Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni.”
Background
Filep Karma, age 51, has been in Abepura prison for six years. In May 2005, the Abepura district court found him guilty of treason for organizing a Papuan independence rally on December 1, 2004, and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
Buchtar Tabuni, age 31, is a leader of the West Papua National Committee, a Papuan independence organization that has grown more radical since his imprisonment. He was arrested in Jayapura on December 3, 2008, for organizing protests against the shooting of his relative, Opinus Tabuni. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment under article 160 of the Criminal Code for “inciting hatred” against the Indonesian government.
Human Rights Watch has documented beatings in Abepura prison in 2008 and 2009 that led to investigations into prison conditions by the National Human Rights Commission and the removal of the previous prison warden.
Human Rights Watch’s June 2010 report, Prosecuting Political Aspiration, describes the mistreatment of individuals serving prison sentences for peaceful acts of free expression in Papua and the Moluccas Islands, including Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni.
Karma continues his hunger strike; KomnasHAM unable to visit Filep and Buchtar
via Tabloid JUBI, 9 December 2010
Karma continues his hunger strike
The political prisoner, Filep Karma has said that he will continue with
his hunger strike, not taking food or drink, until he is returned to
Abepura Prison in Jayapura.
‘I will continue with my hunger strike until I am returned by the
police,’ he said when he met with JUBI. He said he was very
disappointed with the way he was being treated, being accused with
Buchtar Tabuni of causing a riot in the prison last Friday, 3 December.
‘There is no justification for all this treatment towards us,’ he said.
According to JUBI who met him at the police headquarters, even though he is on hunger strike, he looks healthy and keeps smiling.
The head of the District Office of the Department of Law and Human
Rights, Nazaruddin Bunas said that Karma and Tabuni were transferred to police custody because they were the ones who were behind the rioting in Abepura Prison, which is why they are at present in police custody.
The director of Abepura Prison said that he knows nothing about the
transfer of the two prisoners.
——————
JUBI, 8 December 2010
KomnasHAM unable to visit Filep and Buchtar
The deputy head of the National Human Rights Commission in Jakarta, M. Ridah Saleh has expressed his disappointment at not being able to meet Filep Karma and Buchtar Tauni and regrets the fact that their families are not being given access, either
‘The police told us that we should make contact with the prison, even
though we have been given permission to meet them by the police (in
police custody),’ said Ridah Saleh.
He said that the rights of prisoners should be fully protected and
KomnasHAM and members of their families should be given the opportunity to visit the two men. Access to them must not be closed’
Their rights to get medical treatment must also be respected, to avoid
any further problems.
Members of their families are also hoping for access because this is in
accordance with the procedures. This should also apply to the other
three prisoners.
Before going to the police, they had paid a visit to the direskrim
(criminal investigation) where they met Petrus Waine, who said that
KomnasHAM could come and discuss the matter of there being no access to the two prisoners but when they arrived there, no disreskrim people were available to meet them.
‘This is very disappointing indeed, because we were given a promise but when we went there, there was no one who wanted to meet us to discuss this matter.’
The plan of KomnasHAM to visit Filep and Buchtar also had to be
abandoned because these two political prisoners had been moved away from Abepura Prison.
Indonesia: Respect Rights of Papuan Prisoners Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni
Indonesia: Respect Rights of Papuan Prisoners Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni
The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) and the West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) urge the Indonesian Government to respect the rights of and end the persecution of internationally recognized prisoners of conscience Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni who were transferred from Abepura Prison to Jayapura Police Headquarters on December 3.
ETAN and WPAT also urge the U.S. government to use its considerable influence with the Indonesian government and police, deriving in part from its extensive assistance to and training of the police, to ensure that persecution of these prisoners of conscience ceases.
The transfer of Karma, Tabuni and several other prisoners to the police headquarters followed a riot at the prison which in turn was prompted by the killing of one of five prisoners who had escaped the previous day. The authorities are accusing the two activists of inciting the riot. However, reliable reports says that Karma and Tabuni had sought to calm the situation at the prison.
Karma is serving a 15-year sentence for raising a Papuan flag in 2004, while Buchtar Tabuni is serving a three-year sentence after supporting the launch of International Parliamentarians for West Papua in October 2008.
Since their transfer to the police headquarters Karma and Tabuni reportedly have had very limited contact with their families and no contact with legal counsel. Karma has launched a hunger strike in support of his demand for proper treatment for himself, Tabuni and the other transferred prisoners, including access to adequate food or drink.
ETAN and WPAT note that Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights requires that “All persons who are deprived of their freedom must be treated humanely and with respect for their dignity as human beings.” ETAN and WPAT also note that under Indonesian regulations Karma and Tabuni are entitled to correspond with and receive visits from their families, legal counsel and others.
ETAN and WPAT are also deeply concerned that the Indonesian authorities may seek to pursue charges against Karma and Tabuni related to the prison riot. Such a course would be particularly ironic insofar as the Indonesian authorities have failed to prosecute the security force personnel who were recorded torturing two Papuans in May 2010.
Observers in West Papua are concerned that the authorities may transfer Karma and Tabuni to the infamous Nusakembangan prison in Java, where violent criminals are incarcerated. As nonviolent prisoners of conscience, Karma and Tabuni would be at risk. Such a transfer would also make it much more difficult for their families and counsel to monitor their welfare. ETAN and WPAT strongly urge that Karma and Tabuni not be transferred out of West Papua.
Contact: Ed McWilliams – 401-568-5845
John M. Miller (ETAN) -917-690-4391
see also West Papua Report
West Papuan political prisoners denied food for 2 days
via Tapol
Since 3 December 2010 when Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni were transferred to the police authorities in Papua, no legal proceedings have been started against them and they still do not have any legal counsel. They have also been denied food for two days.
Since 4 December, access to the two prisoners has been prevented. Two younger siblings of Karma as well as a representative of the SKPHP tried to visit them on 6 December but they were confronted by police officers. At 4pm, a member of his family asked the police for permission to meet Karma because visiting regulations allowed for daily visits except on holidays and other special days [tanggal merah] from 3pm till 5pm.
The family member asked a police officer: ‘Why aren’t we able to meet our brother Filep Karma?’ to which the officer replied: ‘Because Karma and the others have been transferred here from Abepura Prison. According to orders from our superiors, if you want to visit them, you must first report to the head of the criminal investigation branch (Kasat Reskrim, Polda Papua) because we here are only carrying out orders from our superiors.’ The relative said that he only wanted to give Filep Karma some food and other essential needs and to hear what he himself had to say about why he had been transferred and why they couldn’t meet him.
The police officer then allowed only a very brief meeting to take place, only time enough to hand over the things he needed whereupon the officer asked the relative to leave.
According to information from the family, the five prisoners were given no food at all until 5 December. When Karma asked why they hadn’t received any food, he was told that it was because ‘all of you have been transferred from Abepura Prison and it is the responsbility of the prison authorities, not the police’.
Five of the convicts had almost no access to food and drink till 5 December and since 5 December, they have been given some food but without anything to drink. Relatives had to bring the prisoners a gallon of Acqua to be shared between five men.
Since 4 December, Karma who insists that he is not guilty of anything, has been on hunger strike in protest against treatment by the district chief of Papua and the director of the Abepura Prison.
On 7 December, the family wrote to the director of Abepura Prison, the police chief of Papua and the head of criminal investigations asking to know what legal provision is being used to prevent them from visiting Karma.
The situation now being faced by Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni represents a form of non-physical torture by the State, quite apart from the law on treason and incitement which was used to sentence Karma to 15 years and Buchtar Tabuni to three years. They said that convicted prisoners are human beings with the same rights and dignity as people who are not in prison.
The transfer of Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni represents a case of wrongful treatment by the State against Papuan political prisoners. They are failing to act in accordance with Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which states: ‘All persons who are deprived of their freedom must be treated humanely and with respect for their dignity as human beings.’
It is also clear that state officials are not acting in accordance with Law 8/1981 of the Criminal Procedural Code, bearing in mind that the police officials stated that they were acting in accordance with orders from their superiors and not in accordance with the law which in the legal basis which should be the basis for their actions.
Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni are entitled to receive visits from their families, from legal counsel and from other people in accordance with Article 18, paragraph 1 of a decree by the minister of law. And furthermore, Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni are free to correspond with legal counsel and family members, according to paragraph 4 of the above mentioned ministerial decree.
The families of people who have been convicted for incitement and are now in custody because of the recent riots in Abepura Prison have asked what is the legal basis being used by the police in Papua towards prisoners who have been transferred to them from Abepura Prison already for four days. who have been told that they cannot receive visits from their families, from legal counsel or from anyone else.
Meanwhile, an online campaign has started in a bid to award Filep Karma the Nobel Peace Prize. So far over 200 people have joined the group on social network Facebook. Click here for more info
Ceremony in Timika for symbolic return of Act of Free Choice and calling for Referendum
*Original in Indonesian received. The following is their translation. TAPOL
*
A number of photos were also attached, mainly showing the ceremonial burning of a coffin containing the Act.
*Report by: Romario Yatipai*
*KNPB Timika Chairman*
*KNPB News-*Monday, August 2, 2010 are not left alone by the people of West Papua nation which is in the Timika area. In the day of birth of the manipulation process 1969 was celebrated by the people of West Papua in Timika as a venue for the manipulation of political status by the Dutch West Papua, Indonesia and the United States in the process undertaken by the United Nations Act of Free Choice. Mimika city calmed the situation with the activities of life for people in nations around the existing West Papuan town of Timika. In the peace of the Timika region KNPB worship Choice in 1969 Returns to the United Nations. Maranata Church Kesehatan Street in Timika Indah into place to restore the 1969 Act of Free Choice coffin symbolically in the form of prayer and praise and the burning of Coffin 1969.
Promptly at 11 o’clock worship WPB began to be implemented with compliments. Worship is a theme in saying that “God is crying Eliminate Child Affairs”, which means that the intervention of God cries of suffering people of West Papua nation will end up passing everyone both at the international, national and local. Meditations take place with a short religious service in told by the Rev.Dese Adii interspersed with poetry, song and dance, it states that 1969 is the manipulation in the interest of the warring parties in the International in West Papua in the year 1960-1969.
Worship is held at the end of the combustion Coffin Choice in 1969 by the people of West Papua nation which is in the church yard. After the 1969 burning of the coffin by the people of West Papua in the nation continue with the reading of the political declaration of West Papuan people of the nation. Political statement of the people of West Papua nation is as follows:
*Petition of Choice in 1969 RETURN TO DEMAND UN referendum*
We the people of West Papua nation states that:
1. We are a nation that once independence as a state on December 1, 1961 according to the spirit of the resolutions of the UN decolonization No. 1514 1960.
2. UN, DUTCH, U.S. and INDONESIA never involve us Papuans as owners of this country in determining the status and future of our nation, West Papua. Therefore, the status of West Papua in the Homeland is illegal because it violates the standard-standard and principles of international law and human rights.
3. Implementation of Choice in 1969 is an event full of engineering for economic and political interests of the United States, Indonesia and the United Nations. Because we Papuans never wanted or chose unanimously to join the Homeland. Thus the UN has failed to implement the mechanism of a referendum on the date, July 14 until August 2, 1969.
4. Until now, we the people of Papua demanding the implementation of a democratic referendum, so that we the people of Papua can determine our political rights for our future Papua people. Therefore:
1) We are all people of West Papua with the official returns of defective Choice in 1969 to the UN and the UN soon hold a referendum for the sake of respect for the standards and principles of international law and human rights, and particularly special for justice and peace on the political conflicts that have been and are being people of west Papua casualties.
2) We ask the IPWP and ILWP and Vanuatu Government soon became the facilitator for political accountability and legal status of West Papua to the UN.
Port Numbay, West Papua, August 2, 2010.
*”WE MUST BE ENDING”*
WEST PAPUA NATIONAL COMMITTEE (KNPB)
*_
Buchtar Tabuni_*
General Chairman
West Papuan people preparing for fresh wave of independence protests demanding referendum
Bintang Papua
The chairman of the KNPB, the National Committee of West Papua, Buchtar Tabuni has told the press that his organisation is preparing to consolidate and mobilise large numbers of people to occupy town centres across West Papua to draw international attention to the cause and, making the following demands:
Pepera, the Act of Free Choice is unlawful and must be handed back. A referendum should be held as soon as possible. International Parliamentarians for West Papua, the IPWP, and International Lawyers for West Papua, the ILWP, together with the Vanuatu government should facilitate efforts to challenge the legal and political status of West Papua at the UN. And the KNPB wants to mediate the referendum by the people.
‘This is the most democratic way forward,’ he said, ‘as the way leading to independence. The idea to hold a referendum came from the Majelis Rakyat Papua, the Papuan People’s Council.’
He said that the referendum is the middle way towards resolving the West Papua conflict. The pepera occurred in the 1960s, with a huge amount of manipulation, violating basic international standards.
At the present moment, this matter is before the international community, a move to convince the UN to understand the illegality of Papua’s status as part of the Indonesian republic, NKRI. The IPWP and the ILWP were set up to press for these issues to be taken to the UN, and its members have been lobbying governments in their respective countries.
The process has been promoted by the Vanuatu parliament and government which have agreed to take the issue to the UN, namely to the International Court of Justice, and seek an opinion about the political status of West Papua. Similar pressure is under way by the governments of the PNG and the UK. [Comment: There is little evidence at the moment that this statement is true.]
The process needs to be supported by the mass of the Papuan people, solidly demanding a referendum. The international community is beginning to underrstand what the Papuan people want while Jakarta is closing its eyes and doing nothing to seek a solution, even though thousands of people have demonstrated in support of the decisions of the MRP.
Papuans need to recognise that Indonesia is a colonial power which cannot be expected to find a solution by means of a referendum.
On 2 August, a campaign will begin to point out that the pepera took place at a time of brutal military repression in Papua. This will be the moment when the Papaun people’s rejection of pepera will become part of a national campaign throughout the territory of West Papua.
