Category: Urgent Action

AHRC: Manokwari Court acquits four Papuan students but sentences one more student with rebellion

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-046-2011

4 October 2011

[RE: AHRC-UAU-041-2011: INDONESIA: Manokwari court sentences two Papuan activists in flawed trial]
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INDONESIA: Manokwari Court acquits four Papuan students but sentences one more student with rebellion

ISSUES: Freedom of expression, Indigenous Peoples, Independence of Judges and Lawyers
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from the Institute for Research, Recognition and Development of Legal Aid (LP3BH) in West Papua regarding the sentencing of another Papuan student and the acquittal of four others in relation to their involvement in a peaceful protest on 14 December 2010. While the AHRC welcomes the acquittal of four of the seven victims brought before court the sentencing of the other three presents a violation of their right to freedom of expression. Concerns over the imprisonment of Mr. Bleskadit and the application of the rebellion charge against peaceful protesters in other cases in West Papua remain.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

In the urgent appeal on 23 June 2011 (AHRC-UAC-117-2011), the AHRC raised concerns about the rebellion charges against seven people, for organizing and participating in a peaceful protest and the raising of a West Papuan flag that symbolizes self determination. At the correctional facility, they were ill-treated and denied medical care for weeks resulting in serious health conditions. (photo: Melki Bleskadit in court, source:LP3BH)

On 18 August 2011, the Manokwari district court sentenced Melki Bleskadit (also known as Melkianus Bleskadit) to two years imprisonment. On 23 August 2011, Mr. Yenu was sentenced to seven months and 16 days imprisonment. The AHRC learned that the verdicts were declared based on a flawed process and issued an update AHRC-UAU-041-2011.

On 27 September 2011, the judges panel acquitted four of the five other Papuan students. According to the Manokwari court’s decision No: 84/Pid.B/2011/PN.Mkw, Mr Alex Duwiri and Mr John Wilson Wader were not guilty of acts of rebellion under article 106 jo, (in conjunction with) Article 55 and 56 of the criminal code. The Courts decision No. : 85/Pid.B/2011/PN.Mkw under the same charges declared Mr Panehas Serongon alias Panehas Sarongon and Mr Yance Sekenyap as not guilty. However, according to the latter decision, Mr Jhon Raweyai alias Joni was proven guilty for participating in the rebellion crime, and was sentenced to 9 (nine) months and 17 (seventeen) days imprisonment, most of which has by now already been served during pretrial detention.

The AHRC is of the opinion that the conduct of any peaceful protest is protected by the Indonesian Constitution and international human rights law applicable to Indonesia. Laying criminal charges against the protesters based on the content of the opinion shared violates the victim’s right to freedom of expression in this case. The relevant articles in the Indonesian Criminal Code that originates from the Dutch colonial period have to be reviewed and their further application halted. The AHRC has noted that several steps taken by the authorities have in the recent past aggravated tensions including the stigmatization many indigenous Papuans including activists as rebels. Many are charged and sentenced in flawed processes that lack impartiality and professional standards of judicial conduct, such as in the case of Mr. Bleskadit and Mr. Yenu. The perpetrators of such rights violations are rarely held accountable, which prolongs the use of the courts for political interests. In the cases of Mr Bleskadit and Mr. Yenu, no information regarding accountability actions against the perpetrators are known.

The court held four of the victims not guilty after they had spent approximately nine months in prison without proper access to medical care. Indonesian law entitles the victims to compensation for the deprivation of their liberty during detention and the health conditions they had to endure.

The AHRC has received reports from further sources that the security institutions in Manokwari and West Papua had earlier planned to undertake systematic efforts during 1-14 December 2011 to intentionally create a situation that would allow for the arrest of and criminal charges against protesters. According to the reports received this operation was planned to justify the ongoing stigmatization of indigenous Papuans with the view to scale up security operations. The AHRC urges an immediate investigation into these serious allegations to avoid repetition.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below asking them to intervene in the case immediately to ensure that all allegations of institutional misconduct leading to wrongful deprivation of the victims liberty is investigated, that the victims are compensated and Mr. Bleskadit is released from his political imprisonment. All legal process must to be conducted in accordance with international norms.

Please be informed that the AHRC is sending letters on this case to to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people, and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

INDONESIA: Manokwari Court acquits four Papuan students but sentences one more student with rebellion

Name of victim: Jhon Raweyai, Penehas Serongan, Yance Sekeyab, Alex Duwiri, John Wilson Wader, Melki Bleskadit and Daniel Yenu
Names of alleged perpetrators: Police members, including guards of detention cell of Manokwari district police who arrested, detained and examined the victims, the prosecutor who examined this case
Date of incident: December 2010-September 2011
Place of incident: Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the conviction and sentencing of Jhon Raweyai at the Manokwari district court on 27 September 2011 and the ongoing imprisonment of Mr. Bleskadit for their involvement in a peaceful protest on 14 December 2010.

I know that on 14 December 2010, seven people were charged with rebellion after they had conducted a peaceful protest following a flag raising event. At the correctional facility, they were ill-treated and denied medical care for weeks resulting in serious health conditions.

Furthermore, I know that the Manokwari district court issued the verdict that two of the victims, Melki Bleskadit (also known as Melkianus Bleskadit) and Daniel Yenu, were guilty of acts of rebellion. On 18 August 2011, the verdict against Mr. Bleskadit was declared and he was sentenced to two years imprisonment. On 23 August 2011, Mr. Yenu was convicted to seven months and 16 days imprisonment. I am also aware that the verdicts were declared based on flawed process. Meanwhile, the other accused are still undergoing the trial process.

I was informed that on 27 September 2011, the judges panel acquitted four of the five other Papuan students. According to the Manokwari court’s decision No: 84/Pid.B/2011/PN.Mkw, Mr Alex Duwiri and Mr John Wilson Wader were not guilty of acts of rebellion under article 106 jo, (in conjunction with) Article 55 and 56 of the criminal code. The Courts decision No. : 85/Pid.B/2011/PN.Mkw under the same charges declared Mr Panehas Serongon als. Panehas Sarongon and Mr Yance Sekenyap as not guilty. However, according to the latter decision, Mr Jhon Raweyai als. Joni was proven guilty for participating in the rebellion crime, and was sentenced to 9 (nine) months and 17 (seventeen) days imprisonment, most of which has by now already been served during detention.

I am aware that the conduct of any peaceful protest is protected by the Indonesian Constitution and international human rights law applicable to Indonesia. Laying criminal charges against the protesters based on the content of the opinion shared by them violates the victim’s right to freedom of expression in this case. The relevant articles in the Indonesian Criminal Code that originated from the Dutch colonial period have to be reviewed and their further application halted. I am also aware that several steps taken by the authorities have in the recent past aggravated tensions including the stigmatization many indigenous Papuans including activists as rebels. Many are charged and sentenced in flawed processes that lack impartiality and professional standards of judicial conduct, such as in the case of Mr. Bleskadit and Mr. Yenu. The perpetrators of such rights violations are hardly held accountable, which prolongs the instrumentalisation of courts for political interests. In the cases of Mr Bleskadit and Mr. Yenu, no information regarding accountability processes against the perpetrators are known.

I am also concerned that the court held four of the victims as not guilty after they had spent approximately nine months in prison without proper access to medical care. Indonesian law entitles the victims to a compensation for the deprivation of their liberty during detention and the health conditions they had to endure.

I was shocked to hear about further reports that alleged that security operation were planned by some authorities in order to artificially create conditions that would allow the police to charge activists in various places of West Papua as rebels in order to maintain stigmatization and with the view to scale up security operations. Since many of the steps taken by authorities in recent years seem to aggravate the conflict in West Papua, I am very concerned about the approach of Indonesian institutions in West Papua.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
The President of Indonesia
Jl. Veteran No. 16
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3863777 / 3503088
Fax: +62 21 3442223

2. Head of Indonesian Police
Markas Besar Kepolisian Indonesia
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Kebayoran Baru
South Jakarta 12110
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62 21 3848537 / 7260306 / 7218010
Fax: +62 21 7220669
Email: info@polri.go.id

3. The Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia
Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav. 6-7
Kuningan, Jakarta 12940
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 5253006, 5253889, 5264280
Fax: +62 21 5253095

4. Mr. Basrief Arief
The Attorney General of Indonesia
Jl. Sultan Hasanudin No. 1
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta 12160
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62 21 7221337, 7397602.
Fax: + 62 21 7250213

5. Head of Papua Regional Police
Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No. 8
Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel.: + 62 967 531834

6. Head of Division of Profession and Security of Papua Regional Police
Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No. 8
Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel.: + 62 967 531834

7. Head of National Commission on Human Rights of Indonesia
Jalan Latuharhary No.4-B,
Jakarta 10310
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62 21 392 5227-30
Fax: +62 21 392 5227
E-mail: info@komnas.go.id

8. Chairman of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas)
Jl. Tirtayasa VII No. 20 Komplek PTIK Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 739 2352
Fax: +62 21 739 2317

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL WELCOMES RELEASE OF PAPUAN STUDENTS IN MANOKWARI

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT

 30 September 2011

Index: ASA 21/ 029 /2011

Amnesty International welcomes the decision of the Manokwari District Court on 27 September 2011 to acquit four of the five students arrested in Manokwari, West Papua province, for their involvement in a peaceful protest. The organization hopes that the court’s decision is an indication of greater respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in the province and calls on the Indonesian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all other prisoners of conscience in Indonesia.

The students were arrested on 14 December 2010 with two other activists while taking part in a peaceful march and ceremony in Manokwari, West Papua province, protesting against injustice and human rights violations by the Indonesian security forces against Papuans. During the ceremony the “14 Star Flag”, a symbol of West Melanesian independence, was raised.

Police then arrested seven people: Melkianus Bleskadit; Daniel Yenu, a priest; and five students – Jhon Wilson Wader, Penehas Serongon, Yance Sekenyap, Alex Duwiri and Jhon Raweyai. All seven were charged with “rebellion” under Article 106 of the Indonesian Criminal Code which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and with “incitement” under Article 160.

On 18 August 2011 the Manokwari District Court sentenced Melkianus Bleskadit to two years’ imprisonment while Daniel Yenu was sentenced to seven months and 16 days’ imprisonment on 23 August 2011 and has now been released. Four of the students were acquitted and released on 27 September 2011; however the fifth student, Jhon Rawayei, was found guilty of “rebellion” and sentenced to nine months and 17 days’ imprisonment. He is due to be released soon as he has spent more than nine months in detention.

Amnesty International is aware of at least 90 political activists in the provinces of Papua and Maluku who have been imprisoned solely for their peaceful political activities. Amnesty International considers them to be prisoners of conscience, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a state party, and the Indonesian Constitution guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, opinion, association and peaceful assembly. While the Indonesian government has the duty and the right to maintain public order, it must ensure that any restrictions to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly are no more than is permitted under international human rights law.

Amnesty International takes no position whatsoever on the political status of any province of Indonesia, including calls for independence. However the organization believes that the right to freedom of expression includes the right to peacefully advocate referendums, independence or any other political solutions that do not involve incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.

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Freeport Mine Managers turn rabid on Indonesian Grasberg Strikers

Grasberg mine
Image via Wikipedia

PT Freeport Mine Managers Turn Rabid on Indonesian Grasberg Strikers
26 September 2011

ICEM InBrief

Government-mediated talks broke off last week and labour relations further soured between Freeport-McMoRan and 8,000 striking Indonesian miners of ICEM affiliate FSP-KEP (SPSI), the Trade Union of Chemical, Energy, and Mine Workers (CEMWU). The PT Freeport Indonesia Workers’ Union this week meets the halfway mark of its 30-day strike that now could be prolonged at the world’s largest gold and third largest copper mining complex – Freeport McMoRan’s Grasberg mine in eastern Papua Province, New Guinea Island.

Management spite was apparent at the strike’s start on 15 September and it worsened following the breakdown of three days of talks with the Manpower Ministry in Jakarta on 22 September. PT Freeport managers relieved 138 union shop stewards of their job duties on Friday. The union responded by stating the strike likely will be extended beyond 15 October.

Since the wage, pension, and community funds strike started, managers have coerced workers to return to work with threats of dismissal, they have pressed contractors’ employees into production, and now they try to decimate the union by sacking union stewards and isolating the branch union’s other leaders.

PT Freeport management has attempted to coerce workers to sign a statement saying they will return to work or face getting fired. But despite this, only 500 workers are manning operations and many are staff of contractors. (See a list of contractorshere.)

Freeport-McMoRan last week issued a statement last week saying it was losing three million pounds of copper production daily, and 5,000 ounces of lost gold output daily. To increase pressure on miners to abandon the strike, the company also warned of lost revenues to the Indonesian government and to the seven native groups around Timika, Papua, that Freeport-McMoRan is obliged to support.

The opening salvo came at the strike’s outset when Managing Director Armando Mahler announced a “no-work, no-pay” policy. After last week’s mediation failure, union and government sources said “complete distrust” exists between Mahler and his team and the union.

Thus, PT Freeport Indonesia Workers’ Union asked that US-based Freeport-McMoRan Chairman James Moffett enter discussions. Mine union leaders remember Moffett’s visit a few years ago when he encouraged workplace leaders to engage in “win-win” principles of labour relations.

At last week’s mediation, PT Freeport, 91% owned by Freeport-McMoRan and 9% by Indonesia’s government, said it would not budge from a wage offer of 11% in each year of a two-year accord. (The bi-annual contract comes due on 1 October.) The average miner’s wage rate at Grasberg is US$1.50-per-hour. The union was seeking a doubling of that to US$3-an-hour but in mediation last week, the FSP-KEP miners’ branch union offered a compromise and proposed a 65% increase. The company would not move from 11%.

It has offered slight increases in education and housing support and in shift pay, but has said it would not deviate from wage increments that other foreign investors pay in Indonesia. It also refuses to base a pension scheme – 50% paid into by workers – on multiplied years of service, or hear the union’s demands for enhanced development and opportunities for the indigenous people of Papua.

Grasberg is Freeport-McMoRan’s biggest revenue maker and a year ago, the company’s chief financial officer called it “very low cost and a high cash flow generating asset with a very long life.” The company’s revenues this year from Grasberg are expected to be lower because it is mining lower-grade sections of the open pit mine. But Freeport-McMoRan is bullish on the future; it is developing a deep underground mine adjacent to Grasberg that contains high grades of copper and gold in the same ore body.

The ICEM has intervened in this dispute and through its Indonesian Affiliates’ Union Chairman, D. Patombong Sjaiful of FSP-KEP’s CEMWU, is giving direct aid and support to the Grasberg strikers. They need the solidarity and support of all miners and all trade unions in mining and other industrial sectors. Please send a short message in your own words to the PT Freeport Indonesia Workers’ Union.

In ICEM outreach to the union, when asked to characterise the strike, one officer responded by saying, “determination. That’s the one word that describes workers. We’re determined to change our future through the work we do for this company.”

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Current condition of tapol Kimanus Wenda and funds needed for operation and travel costs

Received from Solidaritas Korban Pelanggaran HAM Papua (Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights in Papua)
[Translated by TAPOL]

Papuan prisoners continue to be subject to discrimination in a number of ways such as the lack of finance, the lack of access to health facilities and racist insults against Papuan people. There are no NGOs, church groups or individuals who are regularly monitoring the situation of Tapols/Napols [this differentiates between political and non-political prisoners in Papua] who are currently in prison in Papua.

Take the example of Filep Karma who was for nine months left unattended in Dok II Hospital in Jayapura, in 2010. Ferdinan Pakage was tortured and sustained permanent injuries in his right eye from a prison official in Abe Prison, Abepura, in 2008. And most recently, Kimanus Wenda who, according to the recommendation of a doctor, needs to have operation for a tumour in the abdomen, but there has been no response from the prison officials in Nabire prison. He was even shackled with handcuffs and kept in an isolation ward in May 2011

The condition of Kimanus Wenda in Nabire Prison is now critical; he has been vomiting because of the tumour. Last Thursday at 12 midnight, he was vomiting and so dizzy that he urged an official to be transferred to hospital but this was refused. [precise meaning of a sentence in the text here is unclear]. Although he had asked to be transferred to Jayapura a number of times as recommended by the doctor, there was no response from the officials at the prison.

In view of the present condition of Kimanus Wenda, the SKPHP had a meeting with the Kanwil (?) and then with the Papua department of law and human rights [Depkum HAM Papua] on 19 September. However, the head of Depkum HAM, Daniel informed his family of a number of conditions:

* A guarantee from the family
* A formal request from the family
* A statement from Nabire Hospital
* Confirmation from the doctor
* A request for police to provide guards.

Solidaritas Korban said that it was prepared to find all these documents and that his family would provide the funds but only for a ticket for Kimanus to make the journey from Nabire to Wamena, meaning that funding for the guards was the responsibility of the state.

On 19 September, Solidaritas Korban had a meeting with Kontras Papua at which the following was agreed:

A division of tasks regarding the documents required.
We would need to raise money for the journey by two persons to Nabire
We would find the money for the stay in hospital, the operation and other requirements after Kimanus was in Jayapura
Information about these decisions would remain confidential.

Once the money for the tickets was available, Solidaritas Korban would:

Lobby the doctor.
Issue a press release
Seek contributions from the general public out in the streets
Lobby for funds to cover the costs of the hospital stay, the operation, the tickets to Nabire and so on.

The amount of money required is as follows:

Rp 1,347,000 x 2 for a total of Rp 2,694,000 for one-way tickets.
Airport tax and local transport, Rp 1,000,000
Solidaritas Korban transport costs incurred to handle arrangements for Kimanus
The total amount of money needed: is Rp 4,694,000

Jayapura, 19 September 2011
Solidaritas Korban Pelanggaran HAM Papua

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Indonesia: Recent outbursts of violence underscore dire need for a rights-based approach to conflict resolution in Papua

http://www.fidh.org/Recent-outbursts-of-violence

Indonesia: Recent outbursts of violence underscore dire need for a rights-based approach to conflict resolution in Papua

 

Paris-Jakarta-Bangkok, 21 September 2011. The recent spike in violent incidents in Papua in July and August underscore the urgent need for Jakarta to re-assess its military approach to solve the situation of unrest in the region and to place the respect for human rights at the heart of conflict resolution policies and practices, said the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) today.

 

Kontras recorded at least ten violent clashes between 5 July to 3 August, 2011[1], involving members of the state security forces and local armed groups. Civilians were injured and killed in some of these clashes. Thirteen Papuans were arrested by the police on 31 August in Kampung Nafri, Abepura, for allegedly causing unrest during a religious ceremony. There were also allegations that these 13 individuals were involved in a shooting incident on 3 August, in which three civilians and one TNI soldier were killed. However, local rights groups pointed out that the police made the arrests without properly investigating and substantiating these allegations. These detainees were reportedly tortured while in police custody.

“Freedoms of expression, association and assembly are routinely violated in Papua, which seriously fuels tensions. Besides, gross human rights abuses, such as acts of torture, remain unaccounted for.” said Poengky Indarti, Executive Director of Imparsial.

“While the use of violence to achieve political and other goals is unacceptable, the heavy military presence and the military-centered approach by Jakarta to Papua’s demand for autonomy serve to sideline human rights and do not provide a viable and peaceful solution to the conflict,” said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President.

Another element of Jakarta’s security-centered approach is the strict restriction to access to Papua. As a result, peaceful activities of civil society groups and human rights actors operating in Papua are known to be under extensive surveillance by the Indonesian military. This form of intimidation goes against the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups or Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and oversteps the lawful limit of intelligence gathering. Internal documents of the Indonesian military recently obtained and publicized by the media revealed both the extent of this kind of surveillance and the military authorities’ mistrust towards peaceful civil society and human rights activities, which they perceive as a threat to national security.

“Monitoring human rights work is seen by the military as threatening to national security and this bodess ill for the safety of human rights defenders and other peaceful activists in Papua, as they could bear the brunt of harassment and physical intimidation by state security forces under the pretext of fighting separatism,” said Yap Swee Seng, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.

Some of the activists and individuals named in the leaked military documents have already faced arrest, detention, and intimidation, such as independence activists Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni, who were both arrested and convicted for their role in organizing peaceful demonstrations during which the Morning Star flag, a banned symbol, was raised.

A recent report released by Imparsial estimates that there are more than 14,000 military personnel deployed to Papua. The report identifies the key features of such a military-centered approach by the central government, including the continuous military operations in Papua without adequate parliamentary oversight, deployment of a large number of non-organic troops to Papua, and the addition of new territorial command structure in the region.

In sum, accountability for human rights abuses perpetrated by state security forces is still lacking in Papua. In addition, in the few rare cases in which perpetrators were brought to court, they were either acquitted or convicted on lesser charges that do not reflect the gravity of their crimes, such as acts of torture.

The four organizations call on the Indonesian government to:

  • Instruct its military to immediately cease all unlawful surveillance activities in Papua and revise its current draft intelligence bill by incorporating recommendations by civil society and bringing it into line with the Indonesian Constitution and Criminal Procedure Code, as well as international human rights law;
  • Take steps to reduce the heavy presence of non-organic military personnel and their involvement in civil administration in Papua and seriously implement security sector reform;
  • Fully and credibly investigate all past and new allegations of human rights abuses, especially those perpetrated by state security forces, and promptly bring perpetrators to justice;
  • Strengthen civilian oversight and rigorous parliamentary scrutiny of military policies, operations and budget; and
  • Respect the role of human rights defenders and ensure unfettered access to Papua by civil society groups and actors, including foreign and domestic journalists and independent human rights monitors.

[1] The documented violent incidents occurred in Kampong Kalome, Tingginambut district, Puncak Jaya (5 July and 12 July); Mulia, Puncak Jaya (13 July and 21 July); Timika, Mimika (30 July); Illga district, Puncak (30-31 July); Kampung Nafri, Abepura (1 August and 3 August); and Mulia, Puncak Jaya/Wamena (3 August). See documentation by KontraS: http://www.kontras.org/index.php?hal=siaran_pers&id=1339.

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