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)