Filep Karma, a prominent Papuan pro-independence activist and longtime former political prisoner of Indonesia, was found dead on a Jayapura beach Tuesday after apparently drowning during a diving trip, police said. He was 63.
Police and Filep’s family said they had no reason to believe that his death resulted from foul play. Filep had been released from an Indonesian prison in 2015 after serving nearly 11 years for raising the Morning Star flag of the Papuan separatist movement.
“I followed the post-mortem process and it was determined that my father died from drowning while diving,” Filep’s daughter, Andrefina Karma, told reporters.
The activist’s body was found early Tuesday at Base-G Beach in North Jayapura district.
Filep had made frequent diving trips to the area recently, his family and friends said. Last year he was found alive on Skouw Beach near the border with Papua New Guinea after a current swept him away during a dive.
Victor Makbon, the Jayapura city police chief, said Filep’s body showed no signs of violence, but he would not comment on a potential cause of death.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Filep Karma. Please don’t speculate,” Victor told BenarNews.
Papua, on the western side of New Guinea island, has been the scene of a low-level separatist insurgency since the mainly Melanesian region was incorporated into Indonesia in a United Nations-administered ballot in the late 1960s.
In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua – like Indonesia, a former Dutch colony – and annexed the region.
Only about 1,000 people voted in the U.N.-sponsored referendum in 1969, called a sham by locals and activists. The U.N. accepted the vote, essentially endorsing Jakarta’s rule.
Mourners line streets
On Tuesday, thousands of people filled the streets of Kotaraja in Jayapura to mourn for Filep as his body was transported back from the Bhayangkara Police Hospital.
“We have come to pay homage to the deceased and escort him to his home,” Jayapura resident Domi Lani said.
Markus Haluk, executive director of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, said Filep’s death was a big loss for the Papuan people.
“Filep Karma was one of those who persevered in the fight for the liberation of Papua. His life was dedicated to the nation and people of Papua,” Haluk said. “He was even willing to live in prison for his fight for Papuan independence.”
Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International in Indonesia, called for an investigation into the death “because many activists who have spoken out about Papua have become targets of violence.
“This is especially considering the deceased’s work in defending the human rights of indigenous Papuans,” he told BenarNews.
Taking a different view, Beka Ulung Hapsara, a member of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), said Filep’s family said he had died from drowning and their statement “should be respected.”
Nonviolence advocate
Filep, a former civil servant and son of former Wamena Regent Andreas Karma, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after participating in the raising of the Morning Star flag on Dec. 1, 2004.
He was released in November 2015 after rejecting an offer of clemency from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
“If I accepted it, it would mean that I admit guilt. I had expected to be released in 2019 because I refused all sentence cuts,” Filep told reporters at the time while attributing his release to international pressure on the government over treatment of political prisoners.
“They forced me out of prison because I didn’t want to accept clemency,” he said.
Filep was tortured and subjected to other degrading treatment while in prison, including being denied access to proper medical care, according to Amnesty International.
Before the flag incident, Filep led what started as a peaceful rally in Biak in 1998 to demand a referendum on self-determination, but it ended in violence when police used force to disband the protesters.
At least eight Papuans were killed, dozens were injured and three went missing, according to a 1999 investigation by Papuan human rights group Elsham.
“I heard stories that people were asked to board an Indonesian Navy ship. It was not clear where they were taken. Later there was news that mutilated bodies were thrown into the sea,” Filep told local media in 2020.
Jayapura, Jubi – Rahmat Paisei, 14, one of the three children allegedly persecuted by the Indonesian Military (TNI) members has not been able to eat. Paisei’s family demanded that TNI soldiers who committed the torture to be prosecuted.
Soldiers tortured Rahmat Paisei, Bastian Bate (13), and Laurents Kaung (11) at the Cartenz Task Force Post in Arso District, Keerom Regency on Thursday, October 27, 2022. They used chains, coils of wire, and water hoses. The abuse only stopped when the XVII/Cenderawasih Military Police arrived.
Since then, Paisei, Bate, and Kaung have been treated at Marthen Indey Army Hospital in Jayapura City. Rahmat’s mother, Elvi Yoku, said that for four days, Rahmat Paisei has not been able to eat. Every time he is given food or water, Rahmat always vomits.
“Until Sunday, he couldn’t eat, his stomach was still disturbed. He keeps vomiting even only by drinking water,” Yoku told Jubi on Sunday.
Yoku said the scars on Paisei’s body had not disappeared. Some of the scars from the beating were blackened. Yoku said that the soldiers tortured her son like an animal.
“Some [beating scars] are still red and some have turned black. He was beaten from head to toe, everything was injured. His thighs and feet were stepped on by soldiers, his stomach was pounded repeatedly, and his neck was strangled,” said Yoku.
Yoku said she had provided information to the XVII/Cenderawasih Military Police. The family has also reported to the Papua National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM Papua). “The perpetrators must be prosecuted. As for the other victims, one of them still experiences headaches and pain in the spine,” he said.
Rahmat Paisei admitted that until now he has not been able to swallow food. He always regurgitates food. “Yes, I can’t eat yet,” Paisei told Jubi on Sunday.
Paisei said TNI soldiers dragged him and tied him to a tree. The soldiers removed his shirt and pants and took turns torturing him. “I saw many soldiers hit me. They pinned my neck and hit me,” he said.
Paisei admitted that the soldiers even threatened to electrocute him. “They tied me to a tree, under the chicken coop. They dragged me to the dishwasher, then they hit me. They tore my shirt and pants. One time they said they wanted to electrocute me, that was when they arrested me in the Workwana area,” he said.
Frits Ramandey, head of the Komnas HAM Papua, said the commission was investigating the case. “We are only starting to investigate it so we cannot comment much as we do not have enough information,” Ramandey told Jubi on Saturday.
Head of Information of XVII / Cenderawasih Military Command Lt. Col. Cav. Herman Taryaman on Monday also said his party was still investigating the child abuse case at the Cartens Peace Task Force Post in Yuwanain Village. He said the Military Police had conducted a crime scene analysis and took testimony from witnesses, both the victim’s parents and the soldiers suspected of being involved in the persecution.
“The Military Police is also coordinating with the Cartenz Peace Task Force to present witnesses in order to expedite the ongoing legal process,” Herman said via WhatsApp message to Jubi on Monday.
“The process of completing the necessary evidence is ongoing, one of which is conducting an examination on the three victims at Marthen Indey Hospital,” he added. (*)
"PRI is a national strategic project (PSN) that aims to integrate the (existing) western, central, and eastern Palapa Ring backbone network end-to-end to increase the utilization of the existing Palapa Ring (PRE)," head of the Papua Communication and Information Office, Jeri A. Yudianto, said here on Tuesday.
The PRI development is based on Ministerial Regulation No. 9 of 2022 concerning amendments to Ministerial Regulation No. 7 of 2021 on changes in the list of national strategic projects, he informed.
According to Yudianto, the development of Palapa Ring Integration will eliminate the digital divide in Indonesia, especially in Papua.
"As it connects 14 provinces and 78 districts/cities as well as 129 serviced cities with an 11,610 km fiber optical network and 46 hops microwave links," he said.
PRI passes through the southern Papua region and it must be paid attention to by the central government and the local government to advance the digital world in Indonesia, he added.
"PRI in Papua, with the project codes P-34 and P-28, starts from Serui to Sawai, then to Teba and Sarmi, and continues to Jayapura, while P-17 starts from Keppi, then Bade to Merauke," he revealed.
Yudianto said that the existence of PRI in Papua is expected to increase Internet bandwidth capacity in each area covered by the network.
Palapa Ring Integration is also expected to be a contingency link in the northern region of Papua island, which often experiences cut-offs because of "ring looping" from Jayapura to Serui and out of Papua.
Related news: Communication Ministry promotes Palapa Ring Integration development
Related news: Ministry builds 12,100-km-long Palapa Ring fiber optic network
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.