LAKSAMANA.Net, August 16, 2004 12:05 AM
Review - Regions: Papua Separatist Jailed
Laksamana.Net - The Jayapura District Court sentenced separatist leader Yance
Hembring, 50, to 10 years in prison for treason on Tuesday (10/8/04), twice the
sentence demanded by prosecutors.
Court president F.X. Soegiharto said the long jail term was imposed because Yance
had been proven guilty of instigating a rebellion against the state and had showed no
remorse over his actions.
Soegiharto said he hoped the long sentence would deter others from participating in
separatist movements.
Prosecutors had presented material evidence including the Morning Star separatist
flag, a computer, the OPM office sign, a rubber stamp and related documents and the
court heard testimonies from eight witnesses.
Yance was arrested in January after taking part in several meetings to discuss
Papua's independence and how the province could secede from Indonesia. He and his
colleagues had demanded an international referendum to determine the future of
Papua.
Yance claimed that Papuans at a refugee camp in Papua New Guinea elected him a
leader for the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in 1999. He then set up a secretariat to
meet the aspirations of Papuans and to facilitate secession from Indonesia.
Maluku Treason Trial Continues
Fifteen members of the Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM) went on trial at the District
Court in the Maluku provincial capital of Ambon on Wednesday (11/8/04), on charges
of participating in a separatist movement in the province.
Prosecutors laid charges against them after the defendants joined in a flag-hoisting
ceremony to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the South Maluku Republic (RMS)
on April 25.
Three days of violence followed which saw some 41 people killed, many by as yet
unidentified gunmen.
The 15 defendants, who have also been charged with treason, are Michael Pattisinay,
Jhon Markus, Reymond Tuapattinaya, Elisa Wattimena, Frans Sinmiasa, Elisa Saiya,
Matheos Sinay, Fredy Van Herlin, Dominggus Patiiha, Donny Irapanussa, Nicson
Tobias, Samuel Frans Ur, Fredy Akihary, Markus Tuasela and Johan B Kailuhu.
Meanwhile two loud explosions on Wednesday night (11/8/04) in Ambon caused local
residents to flee their homes in panic, and security forces to step up their state of
alertness.
There were no reports of death or injury after the explosions. Neither was it clear
whether or not the two separate explosions were bombs.
On Wednesday night, residents living in Talake, Ambon ran out of their homes when
an explosion was heard from the debris of a building that had been set ablaze during
the April 25 violence.
Eyewitnesses said the blast hurled balls of fire into the air at the scene at around 8:30
PM.
Around 15 minutes earlier, another explosion occurred at the Ambon office of
state-owned electricity company PLN. The blast came from a garbage dump behind
the PLN building, which is close to an office of the Army's Strategic Reserves
Command (Kostrad).
Kostrad officers later arrived at the scene to clear the area but found no traces of a
bomb, although the blast created a 30-meter-deep hole.
Local Kostrad chief Lt. Col. Dwi Wahyu Winata admitted it had been difficult to
establish whether the explosion was caused by a bomb, but he said it was a strong
blast. Maluku Police found no traces of a bomb after combing the area.
Ambon Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Leonidas Braksan said his office had yet to
determine the motive behind the two explosions. "The incidents could be an attempt
to destabilize security in Ambon. We are still investigating them," he added.
Protests over Aceh Arrests
Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) protested Wednesday (11/8/04) over
the earlier arrest of two humanitarian workers by security personnel.
Security personnel arrested Asnawi and Fahrizal from the Aceh Humanitarian
Volunteer Association (Pemraka) on August 8, the first arrest of civilians since martial
law status was downgraded in May.
Pemraka was established in 1999 to help refugees and provide medical aid to the
victims of war between the Indonesian military (TNI) and the rebel Free Aceh
Movement (GAM).
Police said that the two were arrested along with 11 other people in the Pemraka
office in Banda Aceh for alleged involvement with GAM.
The NGOs filed a complaint with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas
HAM) claiming that the authorities had no right to arbitrarily arrest activists in Aceh, or
any other part of Indonesia.
The arrest of the aid workers followed another arrest of a civilian environmental activist,
Bestari Raden, who is still being detained for his alleged involvement with GAM.
Munir, co-founder of the National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence (Kontras), has said that Bestari’s arrest was aimed at silencing opposition
to the Ladia Galaska project.
The road project passes through the protected Leuser National Park as it crosses the
southern width of Aceh. The park is home to many of the country's endangered
species, and the project has drawn strong opposition from foreign groups and local
environmental activists.
Also in Aceh, 13 people including two women were killed when a truck overloaded
with timber overturned on a bad road in the conflict-hit province, a report said Thursday
(12/8/04).
The truck was carrying four tons of timber and 38 people when it rolled on a muddy
road east of the North Aceh town of Lhokseumawe on Tuesday (10/8/04), local media
reported. Police detained the driver of the truck, who escaped unhurt.
Commander Defends Air Strikes
The head of the military command overseeing Aceh said Tuesday (10/8/04) that
controversial air strikes have been effective in battling separatist guerrillas there.
Speaking to reporters, Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya said recent air strikes were
successfully eliminating remote jungle bases of GAM and were not endangering
civilians.
"They are effective because encircling an area in a thick jungle is very difficult. It is
better for us to strike first and clean up later. This is very effective and I have
repeatedly done this," Suwarya said.
The air strikes use OV-10 Bronco planes to shell areas prior to land sweeps by
troops. "I am making use of them against suspected targets which are, of course, far
from any settlements. We operate in jungle areas," the general said.
However, he added that air strikes were only effective when the targets involve bases
or concentrations of at least 70-80 guerrillas.
The TNI said Friday (13/8/04) that three GAM leaders had been shot, including
Muzakir Manaf, a commander of the Jeunib area in South Aceh.
Suwarya said Manaf, also known as Darwis Jeunib, and Teungku Abrar Muda, a GAM
spokesman for South Aceh, were wounded during separate gunfights with the military
in the last few days.
A GAM spokesman, Tengku Jamaika, denied the claim, saying the three "are all
healthy and safe in our command center".
Local officials said Tuesday (10/8/04) that President Megawati Sukarnoputri is to pay
a visit to the province later this month for a cultural festival aimed at highlighting the
region's recovery from years of violence.
"God willing she will be here. The date will definitely be in the third week of August.
Whether it's the 20th, 21st, 23rd is not clear but what's definite is the third week,"
Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh said.
"We are having an Aceh Culture Week to show that in addition to preservation of
Acehnese culture, we want to show that Aceh has recovered ... So we hope investors
want to come to Aceh," Puteh said.
Shoot-on-Sight at Belawan
Following several violent brawls involving youth organizations which led to the deaths
of four people in Belawan, the port of North Sumatran provincial capital Medan, police
warned Tuesday (10/8/04) they would shoot anyone involved in fighting on sight.
Provincial police spokesman Sr. Comr. Bambang Prihady said the order, which came
from the chief of police, was aimed only at incapacitating the people concerned, not
killing them. "It is an action of the last resort. The police are encouraged to shoot
them on sight, if brawls have endangered the lives of others, including police
personnel," Prihady said.
The earlier brawls saw the Pancasila Youth and the Functional Youth Union fighting
over the management of car parking spaces. The most recent brawl caused serious
injury to a police officer.
Separately, North Sumatra Governor Rizal Nurdin, a former military commander, urged
the leaders of both youth groups to calm their members down.
The governor also supported the shoot-on-sight order. "This is not a cowboy state
where people can wander freely, carrying guns and machetes," said Rizal.
Nurdin also called on police to obey their own rules and procedures before they shot
at anyone involved in brawling.
According to these procedures, once police are called to intervene in a brawl they are
required to warn those involved to stop. If the warning is ignored police may then fire a
warning shot. Police are allowed to shoot at brawlers only if police lives and those of
others are endangered,
Climbers Banned from E. Java Volcano
Authorities in East Java have temporarily banned climbers from Mount Semeru, one of
Indonesia's active volcanoes, after it started showing signs of a possible major
eruption, officials said Friday (13/8/04).
"The status of Mount Semeru has been upgraded to alert status, after the
3,676-meter-high volcano erupted on Wednesday," said Heri Subagiaji, head of the
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Conservation Park.
The minor eruption blanketed nearby villages with volcanic ash. The volcanic ash also
fell on the nearby city of Malang, about 40 kilometers to the northwest, he said.
Mount Semeru, 780 kilometers east of Jakarta, is a popular tourist destination,
especially for hikers.
Subagiaji said if the monitoring results by a surveillance team indicated that Semeru's
activity level continued to increase, its status would be upgraded to "critical", meaning
that people living in the danger zone would be evacuated.
Subagiaji urged local people to wear facemasks and eye protection when undertaking
outdoor activities.
E. Timor Ambassador in Place
East Timor welcomed Indonesia's first ambassador to the tiny nation on Friday
(13/8/04), saying his arrival shows the relationship with its former occupier is maturing
just five years after bloody independence battles.
President Xanana Gusmao accepted the credentials of Ahmed Sofwan, who was until
recently the deputy chief of Indonesia's Intelligence Agency, or BIN. Previously,
Jakarta was represented in Dili by a consular official.
"There is no doubt that we will face many challenges in the years ahead," Gusmao
said. "But with good cooperation between our countries, I do believe we can solve the
future challenges."
Sofwan echoed Gusmao's comments, saying that the two neighbors will see their
relationship blossom in the future.
"The world can change but the relationship between the people of Indonesia and East
Timor will remain solid," he said.
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