Two Papuan separatist leaders receive up to 10 years in prison<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura<\/p>\n
A Papua district court sentenced Papuan separatist leaders Philep
\nKarma and Yusak Pakage to 15 and 10 years in jail respectively on
\nThursday for \"treason against the state\".<\/p>\n
The judicial panel said in Jayapura that Philep and Yusak had
\nbeen found guilty of holding a separatist meeting in Cenderawasih
\nUniversity last year that discussed preparations to celebrate the
\nself-proclaimed Papua Independence Day on Dec. 1.<\/p>\n
The two had not only organized the meeting, but also organized
\nthe Papua independence celebrations on Dec. 1 last year at the
\nTrikora field, Abepura. The event ended in clashes between
\nindependence supporters and the police, which led to the arrest
\nof Philep and Yusak.<\/p>\n
Besides giving Philep 15 years in jail, the court also
\ndeclared that Philep was no longer fit to work as a civil servant
\nand ordered that he be dismissed.<\/p>\n
\"The defendant should have protected and supported the Unitary
\nRepublic of Indonesia but instead committed treason against the
\nstate,\" said the court in its verdict.<\/p>\n
In response, Philep, who always wears an Indonesian-style
\ncivil service uniform but with the banned Bintang Kejora
\nindependence emblem in the right lapel, merely smiled. \"If you
\nare not fully satisfied with the verdict, then feel free to
\nimpose a longer jail term,\" said Philep.<\/p>\n
The verdict was much heavier than the five years earlier
\nsought by the prosecutors for each defendant. This was because
\nthe two had been persistently hostile during the trial, the court
\nsaid in its verdict.<\/p>\n
Thursday's session was heavily guarded by police officers, who
\nfeared possible violence following a protest that ended in
\nviolence between the police and independence supporters on May 10
\noutside the Jayapura District Court. The clash happened shortly
\nafter a hearing involving Philep and Yusak had been recessed.
\nDozens of people, including 10 police officers, were injured. The
\nclash apparently angered the top brass in Jakarta, and there were
\nmany reports that the police had committed human rights
\nviolations. Images of the police brutally beating up protesters
\nand committing random acts of violence against civilians were
\ncaptured by TV cameras and beamed across the nation.<\/p>\n
Several senior police personnel were replaced following the
\nclash after being held responsible for badly managing the
\nprotest.<\/p>\n
The independence supporters clashed with the police after
\nPhilep was prevented from addressing the crowd.<\/p>",
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