4) Malaysian govt wants to invest in Papua in tourism and education
More than 100 Catholic priests have signed a petition seeking fair trials in cases of violence, including sensational murders, as a way of peace-building in Indonesia’s restive Christian-majority Papua region.The petition includes a five-point declaration which was adopted during a meeting of 106 diocesan priests from all five dioceses in the region in Agats, Asmat district in South Papua province on Oct. 4-9.
The priests cited the Aug. 22 killing and mutilation of four Protestant Christians in Mimika district of Central Papua province allegedly by six soldiers, who accused them of having links with separatist rebels.The military said the accused soldiers will be prosecuted in a military court.
Four civilians have also been named suspects in the case.
It asserts they "reject intervention by any party attempting to obstruct the legal processes" and urge "security personnel and armed criminal groups to find more dignified and peaceful ways to deal with conflicts."
“We strongly denounce any form of racial acts, intimidation, violence, and murder carried out in inhumane ways against the Papuan people as well as outsiders,” they said.
“We call on the central government — president and the parliament — and the police as well as NGOs to tackle each problem emerging in the Land of Papua with a peaceful heart and mind and through a dialogue of peace,” the declaration added.
Father Dominikus Dulione Hodo, the coordinator of diocesan priests in Papua, said that the call was made as his group believe that nearly all legal processes in the region tended to run slowly and not transparently.
“The Paniai shooting trial in Makassar, for example. There seems to be an intervention, an obstruction of justice,” he told UCA News.
The Human Rights Court in Makassar, in South Sulawesi province, began the trial in this case in September, nearly eight years after four Christian students aged 17-18 were allegedly gunned down by security forces during a protest in December 2014 in Paniai district of what was then Papua province.
The Attorney-General’s Office (AGO) named Isak Sattu, an Indonesian military retiree who was a liaison officer for the Paniai Military Command, as a suspect in the case after the National Commission on Human Rights investigated and revealed last year that the incident amounted to a “gross human rights violation.”
“By issuing the recommendation, we want to echo our voice,” Father Hodo said.
“With the recommendation, we are encouraged to create peace in Papua along with the people. We are all equal before the law,” he told UCA News.
He said a copy of the recommendation will be sent to related parties, including the home affairs minister and national police chief.
Yones Douw, a local rights activist, said most legal processes related to cases of human rights violations in Papua “are carried out behind the closed door.”
“The Paniai shooting case, for example. There is only one suspect — the killer. But who gave him the order to shoot?” he said.
Papua, the easternmost region of Indonesia was annexed at the end of Dutch colonial rule in the 1960s through a referendum considered by many a sham.
A pro-independence insurgency and consequent military crackdown triggered a trail of violence that left thousands killed and displaced in the past decades. Both the military and separatists are accused of gross human rights violations.
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Makassar, Jubi – During the trial of Bloody Paniai gross human rights violation at the Makassar Human Rights Court on Monday, October 3, 2022, the defendant’s lawyer, Syarir Cakkari questioned why the police did not follow up on a number of alleged criminal acts in the Bloody Paniai series of events. He considered his client, Maj. (Ret.) Isak Sattu, was discriminated against because he was the sole defendant in the case.
Syarir stated this when questioning the former Head of the Paniai Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Adj. Comr. Mansur, who was a witness in the case.
Syarir asked, among other things, why there was no legal process against the TNI soldiers who persecuted Benyamin Kudiai, Yosafat Yeimo, Noak Gobai, and Oktofince Yeimo on the evening of December 7, 2014.
Syarir also questioned why the perpetrators against police and TNI cars were not prosecuted. “From the persecution against residents in Pondok Natal on the evening of December 7 to the destruction of the car the next morning, there should have been an examination against the perpetrators,” said Syarir.
“There are nine police reports but only one was followed up, namely the incident at the Karel Gobay field, which killed four people. What is the position of other perpetrators in the eyes of the law?” he added.
In the Bloody Paniai case, Isak Sattu was the sole defendant examined and tried by a panel of judges led by Chief Judge Sutisna Sawati with Member Judges Abdul Rahman, Siti Noor Laila, Robert Pasaribu, and Sofi Rahman Dewi.
The trial on Monday presented three witnesses from the police, including the former Head of the Paniai Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Adj. Comr. Mansur. In his testimony, Mansur admitted that a number of alleged criminal acts in the December 8, 2014 incident were not followed up. “It stopped at police reports,” he said.
Mansur said he was not at the locations of the various events on December 8, 2014, both at Pondok Natal and Karel Gobay Field. At the time, he and his team were conducting an investigation at the Paniai General Election Commission office that caught fire the night before. However, the series of events was included by Mansur in the police report file as a unity in the Bloody Paniai incident.
On December 10, 2014, the Papua Police ordered Mansur to join the Police forensic laboratory team consisting of the Papua Police, Paniai Police, Timika Police and Nabire Police. According to Mansur, the team then conducted a crime scene investigation.
The team has also conducted a post-mortem on the four students who died in the Bloody Paniai incident. However, Mansur said he did not know the results of the post-mortem. “There was a post-mortem on the victims but I don’t know the results,” Mansur said.
Mansur said the police had difficulty following up on the other alleged criminal offenses because the community did not open up after the shooting that killed four students in Bloody Paniai. The police also had difficulty identifying the perpetrators in the other eight police reports. “The consideration was that the perpetrators were the masses,” Mansur said.
Syarir, who was not satisfied with such an answer, questioned Mansur further. “There was one young man who came to hit the vehicle with an axe. This is one person, not a mob, the police should be able to identify him but why didn’t you?” said Syarir.
“I can’t answer that question,” Mansur replied.
For Syarir, the court case file was unclear, as the names of those involved in the Paniai incident were not properly identified. Syarir, who was not satisfied with Mansur’s explanation, felt that his client, Isak Sattu, was being discriminated.
“Why is the handling in the legal process not according to what happened in the police report? It’s like there is discrimination in law enforcement,” said Syarir. (*)
4) Malaysian govt wants to invest in Papua in tourism and education
Jayapura, Jubi – The Malaysian government expressed their desire to invest in the trade, tourism, and education sectors in Papua. This was conveyed by Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Adlan Mohd Shaffieq during a meeting with the Papua Provincial Government.
“Currently there are six Malaysian companies in Papua engaged in the palm oil business. We want to see other opportunities such as in fisheries, agriculture, and others,” Adlan said in Jayapura City on Monday, October 10, 2022.
Adlan said that the Malaysian Embassy was a facilitator for Malaysian companies to invest in Papua. The Cenderawasih Earth is considered to have great potential to develop the natural tourism sector and attract Malaysian tourists to travel to Papua.
“This is my first time in Papua and the natural attractions are extraordinary. The media portrays a lot of negative information about Papua but after coming here myself, it turns out that it is not all true,” he said.
Acting Assistant General Affairs of the Papua Provincial Government Derek Hegemur hoped that the Malaysian Government could encourage investment in the fisheries or education sectors in Papua. He also wants Malaysian entrepreneurs to work on Papua’s potential in other fields.
Therefore, Hagemur said he wanted to build cooperation with the Malaysian Government. Hopefully, such cooperation could encourage Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Papua to grow.
“Papua has a number of commodities such as coffee, cocoa and wood. We can develop all of them through cooperation. The cooperation will benefit both parties and strengthen the relationship between Papua and Malaysia,” he said. (*)
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