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| Ilustrasi Kekerasan Militer Indonesia terhadap aktivis papua merdeka. (WK/SCK) |
(New York) – The Indonesian government should
immediately release more than a dozen Papuans detained for raising the
Papuan “Morning Star” flag in Fakfak, a major city in western Papua,
Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the
Indonesian government to launch an investigation into the excessive use
of force by the Indonesian police, who beat and kicked the activists
during the arrests on July 19, 2008.
“Once again, the Indonesian authorities have stopped Papuans from
peacefully expressing their political views,” said Elaine Pearson,
deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The police should not
resort to violence to suppress political activism.”
Police arrested 46 Papuans during a flag-raising ceremony at 4:30
a.m. on July 19 outside a government archive office, locally known as
the “Act of Free Choice” building. The protesters organized the
flag-raising ceremony very early in the morning, apparently to avoid
police detection. Those arrested included two ex-political prisoners and
two women. Eleven others were arrested on their way to the ceremony.
Police have released 37 of the group, but arrested five more activists
on July 23.
According to local human rights workers, during the arrests the
police beat and kicked almost all of the men. They also allege that the
police subjected the Papuans to humiliating treatment by forcing the men
to strip to their underwear on the street before taking them by truck
to the Fakfak police station. An eyewitness at the police station said
detainees had bruises on their faces and bodies. Two detainees showed
bleeding inside their right eyes.
Abubakar Nataprawira, a national police spokesman, denied the beating
but said the police will look into allegations regarding the eye
injuries. He also denied that those arrested were forced to strip.
Police charged six of the 46 with subversion for threatening the
state by raising a “separatist” flag. Those charged are Simon Tuturop,
Tadeus Weripang, Viktor Tuturop, Tomas Nimbitkendik, Benedidiktus
Tuturop, and Teles Piahar. Subversion under Indonesia’s criminal code
carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The criminal code is a
legacy of the Netherlands Indies’ criminal code passed by the Dutch
parliament in 1918 and adopted as Indonesian law in the 1950s after
independence.
“Charging people with subversion, a crime punishable by life
imprisonment in Indonesia, is an outrageous response to the peaceful
political act of raising a flag,” said Pearson. “The unlawful acts at
the scene were by police beating up protesters.”
Human Rights Watch also urged the authorities to drop charges of arms
possession against three of the detainees, Walter Warpopor, 60, Daniel
Nimbitkendik,19, and Simon Hindom, 50. Though the three had a knife, a
bow and arrow, and a bush machete in their possession, it is common for
villagers in Papua to carry such items. There is no evidence that they
planned to use those weapons for violence.
Repression against political activists in Papua and the Maluku
Islands has increased since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took
power in 2004. In a visit to Ambon, the capital of the Maluku Islands,
on June 29, 2007, Yudhoyono ordered security forces to arrest a group of
24 dancers who had unfurled the South Maluku Republic flag. Of those
arrested, Johan Teterisa is serving a life sentence for subversion, and
19 others are serving sentences of between 10 and 20 years.
In March 2008,
police arrested and jailed nine Papua activists for displaying the
Papuan Morning Star flag. Their trial, on charges of subversion, is
ongoing and the nine remain in detention.
Human Rights Watch called on the Indonesian government to immediately
release all persons imprisoned for exercising their rights to free
expression, free association or peaceful assembly in Papua and the
Maluku Islands and drop all charges against the Fakfak protesters.
For many years, Human Rights Watch has called for the amendment of
the Indonesian criminal code to repeal provisions that violate basic
freedoms of expression, assembly and association.
In July 2007, Human Rights Watch welcomed the ruling of the
Indonesian Constitutional Court declaring unconstitutional certain
provisions in prohibiting free expression in Indonesia’s criminal code .
Despite the ruling, several Indonesian laws continue to restrict
freedom of expression in violation of international law, including
article 6 of Government Regulation 77/2007, which prohibits the display
of the Morning Star flag in Papua, the South Maluku Republic flag in
Ambon and the Crescent Moon flag in Aceh.
“Indonesian governments continue to use outdated laws restricting
free expression to suppress peaceful dissent in far-flung provinces,”
said Pearson. “The government should rewrite these laws, not use them
against peaceful protesters.”
The internationally protected rights to freedom of expression and
peaceful assembly are codified in the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2006.
Sumber : www.hrw.org
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