East Timorese refugees seek justice<\/p>\n
Andi Hajramurni and Suherdjoko, Makassar\/Semarang<\/p>\n
Dozens of East Timorese refugees have camped in front of the
\nSouth Sulawesi High Court since Monday, demanding that it annul
\nits verdict, which favors an alleged corruptor.<\/p>\n
The high court recently annulled the Pangkep district court's
\nFebruary ruling that sentenced the head of the social office in
\nPangkep regency, Bisman, to five years in prison.<\/p>\n
The district court had also fined him Rp 250 million.<\/p>\n
The case was brought before the high court for review,
\nBisman's prison sentence was lowered to 15 months and the fine,
\nlifted.<\/p>\n
\"Where is the justice? The defendant embezzled people's money
\nbut was only sentenced to 15 months in prison,\" said Abdul Hamid,
\nthe coordinator of the East Timorese refugees in Pangkep regency.<\/p>\n
The refugees had complained of receiving less aid than the
\ngovernment had promised them, while others said they received
\nnothing at all.<\/p>\n
The refugees fled the newly established country after it
\nseparated from Indonesia in 1999.<\/p>\n
Abdul explained there were 499 refugee families in Pangkep but
\nonly 170 families had received government aid. The 170 families
\nreceived Rp 3.5 million each, less than had been promised.<\/p>\n
The refugees, angered by the low payments, demanded an
\ninvestigation of the disbursement process, which eventually led
\nto the district court's verdict against Bisman.<\/p>\n
Achmad, a high court official, told the refugees the high
\ncourt could not alter its verdict, but if they were dissatisfied
\nthey could appeal to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
In response, the protesters vowed on Tuesday they would stay
\nat the high court until it changed its verdict.<\/p>\n
Separately, a group of East Timorese refugees living in
\nCentral Java demanded on Tuesday the government pay more
\nattention to the plight of refugees in the province.<\/p>\n
Batista Sufakevi, the coordinator of the group, who claimed
\nthat he represented some 20,000 East Timorese refugees living in
\nCentral Java, said that the refugees deserved proper housing,
\neducation and soft loans to start businesses.<\/p>\n
Batista said representatives of the group would meet with
\nPresident Megawati next week.<\/p>\n
He estimated that there were more than 200,000 East Timor
\nrefugees living in various parts of Indonesia, including in Bali,
\nEast Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi and Central Java.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/east-timorese-refugees-seek-justice-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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