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| Hundreds of protestors held a peaceful rally outside the Indonesian embassy in London (Tapol) |
London , 2/4 ( Jubi ) – “I spent six years in prison for calling
for resistance against injustice in Burma. Now I stand here to give
solidarity to the comrades in Papua who are experiencing the same
thing,” said former Burmese political prisoners , Aung Ko.
Hundreds of protestors organized by TAPOL (Political Prisoners),
Survival International and Amnesty International UK held a peaceful
rally outside the Indonesian embassy in London on Wednesday to demand
Indonesia release political prisoners in Papua and political parties and
Indonesian presidential candidates to support the fulfillment of
Papuans’ democratic rights.
A similar demonstration was also held in Scotland , the Netherlands , Australia , New Zealand and Papua .
In Jayapura , about 10:00 am ( local time) , police fired warning
shots to disperse peaceful protestors demanding an immediate release of
Papuan political prisoners. Police were heard calling the protestors
“monkeys” and arrested two people people. The two protestors were
allegedly mistreated and denied legal counsel while in detention at the
Jayapura police station.
In London at 13:00 pm (local time ) demonstrators represented 76
political prisoners who are currently behind bars in Papua . They were
symbolically handcuffed and had their mouths covered to demonstrate
restrictions on freedom of expression in Papua. Despite mounting
international concerns about the political situation and human rights in
Indonesia, political parties taking part in the April 9 elections still
lack plans on how to resolve the conflict in Papua. Some demonstrators
challenged presidential candidates to explain their programs on Papua .
Some protesters held up a signs that read: “Jokowi , foreign
journalists should be allowed to enter Papua”. Another said: “Bakrie,
will you release Papuan political prisoners?”
“In a letter to the Indonesian ambassador in London , HE Teuku Mohammad Hamzah Thayeb , delivered today, the organizers of the demonstration , TAPOL stated that there are 537 Papuan political prisoners in 2013. It’s twice as many as in 2012. Cases of prisoners subjected to mistreatment including torture are three times as high as the level in 2012, and cases of denial of access to lawyers or unfair courts have doubled from 2012, ” Paul Barber, TAPOL coordinator, told Jubi from London on Wednesday night ( 2/3).
The lack of democratic space in Papua means that the election is almost irrelevant to many people of Papua, he said.
Dominic Surabut, a Papuan political prisoner, sent a message from
Abepura prison to all demonstrators. He said: “Freedom and democracy
can not be killed and imprisoned , because the spirit is absolute and no
one or no country can eliminate it. To the human rights workers and
those who pro-democracy activists around the world, we cannot stay
silent. We must continue to clench our hands and souls together to save
and put democracy in place”.
Surabut was arrested on October 19, 2011 and is currently serving a
sentence of three years in prison for his participation in a peaceful
political meeting in Jayapura .
According to a report published by Papuan Behind Bars , political
prisoners in Papua are often tortured to extract confessions. Many of
them were beaten and subjected to cruel and degrading acts like being
forced to fight each other or not given proper food or medicines.
Restrictions on international organizations and foreign media working in
West Papua means that many violations occur in secret , and independent
reporting is almost impossible . This is a serious problem in the
region known to host one of the highest concentrations of security
forces in the world, the report said.
“If Indonesia does not have anything to hide in Papua , why they do
not allow journalists and international organizations come to Papua ?
Seventy- six political prisoners in Papua can not be hidden from the
world . ” Paul Barber said .
International organizations and UN mechanisms are more and more
asking on restriction of the right to freedom of expression in Papua.
And this restriction is unacceptable. In November 2012 , the UN Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion that the detention of
Filep Karma , as long as 15 years in prison for raising the Papuan
Morning Star flag is a violation of international law .
In May 2012 , at a session of the Universal Periodic Report of Human
Rights ( Universal Periodic Review ) on Indonesia in the UN Human Rights
Council in Geneva , the Indonesian government accepted the
recommendation to invite the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion
and expression , Frank La Rue . The visit was planned for early 2013
but was canceled unilaterally by the Indonesian government. In May 2013 ,
the Chairman of the UN Commission on Human Rights, Navi Pillay
expressed concerns about restrictions on freedom of expression in Papua.
TAPOL called on the Indonesian government to drop criminal charges
against Papuan political activists and meet the international standards
regarding the treatment of prisoners. ( Jubi / EC / Victor Mambor / Tina)