Rights commission protests intervention into Abepura inquiry<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas
\nHAM) protested on Wednesday the intervention of the Irian Jaya
\nprovincial office of the justice and human rights ministry and
\nthe police in its inquiry into the Abepura incident, saying such
\ninterference was "an obstruction to justice".<\/p>\n
Head of the commission's inquiry team, Albert Hasibuan, said
\nthe police had summoned and questioned all the witnesses and
\nvictims of the raid on the police station which occurred on Dec.
\n7 at Abepura district and which claimed the lives of at least
\nthree students.<\/p>\n
"The police questioning of them, which took place following
\nour inquiry, disrupted the legal proceedings because the
\nwitnesses and the victims were scared and felt intimidated, since
\nthe police often visited their residences.<\/p>\n
"We demand the National Police chief instruct the Irian Jaya
\npolice chief to stop the intimidation," he told the press.<\/p>\n
Hasibuan said that the Rights Tribunal Law No. 26\/2000
\nauthorized the commission to conduct the inquiry into the human
\nrights violations in Abepura.<\/p>\n
"We're only obliged to inform the Attorney General's Office
\nabout our inquiry," he said.<\/p>\n
The inquiry is slated to be completed in the middle of April
\nand will be filed as the first case to be tried by a rights
\ntribunal in the country.<\/p>\n
The trial will be held in Makassar, South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Hasibuan also questioned the authority of the provincial
\noffice of the justice and human rights ministry, which gave a
\nlegal opinion on the human rights aspects of the inquiry. It
\nadvised the Irian Jaya police deputy chief not to fulfill the
\ncommission's summons, since the office regarded the Abepura
\nincident as an ordinary crime.<\/p>\n
He said the office's head, Arrongear, had questioned the
\nlegality of the commission's work because it had not obtained his
\npermission.<\/p>\n
Such a permission was not really necessary, Hasibuan said.<\/p>\n
Just before dawn on Dec. 7, a mob attacked Abepura police
\nstation. Three people, including two policemen, were killed
\nduring the assault.<\/p>\n
According to the police, the mob was believed to be Wamena
\nresidents who had come down from the mountainous areas of the
\nBaliem valley in central Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
Hasibuan assumed that the attack was connected with the police
\nhaving enforced the lowering of the Morning Star, Papua's
\nseparatist flag on Dec. 1, hoisted to commemorate the
\nindependence day claimed by the Irianese.<\/p>\n
Hasibuan said that in response to the attack, the police
\n"arbitrarily" raided three students' dormitories in Jayapura. The
\nraid claimed the lives of three students while about 100 people,
\nmostly students, were detained.<\/p>\n
"From the police officers' testimonies, it was disclosed that
\nthe students had been badly beaten... One of the deceased, Elkius
\nSuhiad, a high school student, was shot in the head," Hasibuan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
On the next day the police released those who were detained
\nbecause they were not involved with the attack.<\/p>\n
"The police had unjustifiably detained innocent people and had
\nviolated their human rights," Hasibuan added.<\/p>\n
The inquiry team questioned 60 witnesses and victims and 14
\npolice officers, including former Irian Jaya police chief Brig.
\nGen. S.Y. Wenas. (bby)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rights-commission-protests-intervention-into-abepura-inquiry-1447893297",
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