30-month jail term sought for three Papuan rebels
RK Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
Prosecutors demanded on Monday that three rebel leaders in the troubled province of Irian Jaya be sentenced to two years and six months in prison respectively on subversion charges against the state over their campaigns for independence.
The prosecutors at two separate trials argued that secretary- general of the separatist Papuan Presidium Council (PDP) Thaha Al Hamid and two other presidium members Rev. Herman Awom and Don Al Flassy were guilty of betraying the country.
"The defendants clearly have a similar intention to separate Irian Jaya, currently named as Papua, from the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia," chief prosecutor Syamsu Alam told the trial at the Jayapura District Court on Monday.
He said the treason charges against them were proven when the Presidium organized the first pro-independence congress of local people in February 2000 as part of the campaign for independence, which was followed by a second congress on May 29, 2000.
During the latest congress, for which the then president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid provided the organizers with Rp 1 billion in an assistance fund, pro-independence supporters demanded that Indonesia recognize the sovereignty of West Papua that was declared in 1961.
The natural resource-rich territory of Irian Jaya was formally recognized by the United Nations in 1969.
Syamsu said there were no deeds of the three defendants that could mitigate the demand for their sentences. "The defendants' actions have even instilled resentment among the local people," he added.
Under the country's prevailing law, treason carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail.
Local legal experts have said the imprisonment demand for such subversion suspects was too lenient and was "extremely irrational".
"The prosecutors have made a decision that violates the logical consequences of Indonesia's existing laws," a local senior lawyer, who refused to be named, told The Jakarta Post.
The trials for the three rebels were opened in December 2000. A similar case against PDP leader Theys Hiyo Eluay was dropped after he was found dead in Irian Jaya last year.
The court has also suspended the trial of another presidium member Jhon Mambor because he is seriously ill.
Monday's trial, presided over by judge Edward Sinaga, was adjourned until Feb. 4 to hear defense pleas from the lawyers of the three defendants.
Two activists from Amnesty International -- Lucia Wither and Signe Poulsine, who arrived in Jayapura last week -- witnessed Monday's trial.