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