Court asked to free 'Theys four' of charges
Court asked to free 'Theys four' of charges
R.K. Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
A legislator has called on Jayapura District Court to free the
Papua Presidium Council's functionaries from subversion charges,
as what they have fought for has been accommodated in the newly
endorsed law on special autonomy for Papua.
"I call on the panel of justices to drop the subversion
charges and free the four suspects because they, along with the
Papuan people, have been accommodated by the special autonomy
law," John Ibo, chairman of the Irian Jaya provincial legislative
council said in his testimony to the court here on Monday.
Theys Hiu Eluay, PDP chairman, Thaha Al-Hamid, PDP secretary-
general, Don A. Flassy, chairman of the Independent Youth
Organization, and Rev. Hermon Awom were charged with subversion
for organizing the 2000 proindependence congress of Papuan people
in Jayapura where they demanded a self-determination referendum,
a change of the province's name and the right to display the
province's flag and symbol. They were also accused of inciting
local people to use violence in their struggle.
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who contributed Rp 1
billion to the congress failed to testify for the four suspects,
while Muridan S. Widjojo, a sociologist from the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI), was barred from giving expert
testimony to the court as he was not a law expert.
"The presence of Muridan as an expert witness in the court is
not acceptable because he is not a law expert," Sigid, a
prosecutor, said in the court session.
Ibo added that the real suspects were not the four but all the
Papuan people because what they had been fighting for was the
people's political aspirations, which had been adopted by the
central government.
"To be consistent with the government's decision to endorse
the bill on special autonomy, this case should be dropped and the
four should be freed of charges," he said.
The panel of judges chaired by Sinaga declined to take Ibo's
testimony into consideration and adjourned the court session to
Nov. 11, 2001.
Muridan expressed deep disappointment with the court's
rejection of him, saying he was an expert and familiar with the
Papuan people, as he had conducted much research in the province.
"I came here at the invitation of Theys' lawyers to testify
before the court," he said, adding he was confused by the court's
rejection because he had done the same thing at the South Jakarta
district court in a similar case and there had been no problem.
Muridan said the court's rejection actually reflected the
government's unfair treatment of the Papuan people.
"The court's rejection will generate hatred among the Papuan
people against the government," he said.