Govt releases 105 remaining prisoners

Govt releases 105 remaining prisoners

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Izha
Mahendra proudly announced on Thursday that there would be no
more political prisoners in Indonesia as President Abdurrahman
Wahid had issued a decree releasing the remaining 105.

Yusril said the President signed Presidential Decree No. 173
on Thursday, to release 72 political prisoners which included 39
activists from Irian Jaya, 11 from Aceh and 14 from East Timor.

The list includes the activist Elizer Awom, who received a
life sentence for subversive activities as a Free Papua Movement
(OPM) fighter. He is serving his sentence at Kalisosok Prison in
Surabaya.

The President also decided to free 33 political detainees from
Irian Jaya, most of whom are Free Papua Movement (OPM) activists.
Most of the prisoners are incarcerated in Sorong Prison,
including Adarce Burdam and Filep Yacob Samuel Karma.

Yusril said that barring unforeseen complications, the
prisoners would be freed by Friday.

"With the release, there will be no more political prisoners
in our country," Yusril told journalists at the Bina Graha
presidential office.

"If there are families who know that their relatives or family
members have not been released, please let me know," the minister
said.

To mark Christmas and Idul Fitri, Abdurrahman, through his
decree No. 174, even granted special sentence reductions to 3,800
of the some 38,000 criminal convicts across the country. The
President traditionally grants such reductions to mark the
country's independence day on Aug. 17.

"This is a breakthrough of the present government. Now a
prisoner can get two sentence reductions in a year," said Yusril.

However, there still appears to be some confusion over the
fate of many of the East Timor political prisoners since many of
them were jailed in East Timor which is no longer part of
Indonesia.

Out of 14 East Timorese prisoners, three of them -- Jacinto
das Noves Raimundo, Saturnino da Costa Bello and Financio
Carvalhoare -- were jailed in Semarang, Central Java, while the
remaining were said to have been jailed in prisons in Baucau,
Dili and Maliana in East Timor.

East Timor was officially separated from Indonesia in October.

In a meeting with East Timor independence leader Jose
Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao on Nov. 30, Abdurrahman promised to
free the remaining East Timorese prisoners still in Indonesian
jails.

Of the Acehnese prisoners, eight of them are currently
imprisoned in Banda Aceh, while the rest are incarcerated in
Medan, North Sumatra.

This was the second time the President has issued a decree
freeing political prisoners since his election as president in
October.

He freed 91 political prisoners, including 70 East Timorese,
six leaders of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) and 15 people
involved in the Lampung riots. PRD chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko
was also among those released.

"The government can no longer punish someone just because he
or she has different views to that of the government," Yusril
said, reiterating the government's commitment to put an end to
such practices.(prb)