Friday, January 20, 2023

1) MSG DIRECTOR GENERAL MEETS WITH UNITED LIBERATION MOVEMENT FOR WEST PAPUA (ULMWP)


2) Police and National Army Personnel Arrest Two Arms Dealer in Papua
3) Family of Mimika mutilation victims disappointed perpetrator charged with 4 years in prison 

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MSG Secretariat

15h 
1) MSG DIRECTOR GENERAL MEETS WITH UNITED LIBERATION MOVEMENT FOR WEST PAPUA (ULMWP)




PORT VILA, VANUATU (20 January 2023): The Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat, Leonard Louma, OBE, this week met with the chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Benny Wenda, and his retinue.
The request by ULMWP for the meeting was made through Vanuatu’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Wenda conversed on two keys matters, firstly providing updates on the situation in West Papua, as they saw it, and secondly, sought information on the ULMWP application for full Membership to the MSG.
DG Louma opened his remarks by informing Mr. Wenda of the importance he placed on constructive dialogue between the two parties. Following that, he sought to explain the basic ground rules governing the operations of the Secretariat given that it is owned by five MSG members.
“The MSG Secretariat’s conduct and actions on any matter are defined and circumscribed by the MSG Leaders decisions. The Secretariat has no authority to act outside the collective decisions of the Leaders. As such, the Secretariat is not at liberty to prosecute the position of individual members on any matter,” DG Louma said.
In terms of the update on the situation in West Papua, DG Louma noted the information provided and pointed out that MSG Leaders have in the past expressed certain views on certain issues raised within the realm of reports of human rights abuses. MSG Leaders, as part of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), have taken a decision with their Forum colleagues on an approach that involves the United Nations and the MSG Secretariat is duty-bound to respect that approach.
In relation to the ULMWP membership application, DG Louma emphasised that the MSG Secretariat simply facilitates and implements ‘collective decisions’ made by leaders according to the approved regulations, rules and guidelines.
“As the Head of the MSG Secretariat, I must ensure that the actions I take are in accordance with the decision of the Leaders and the rules approved by them. Consequently, the application by the ULMWP will be considered against the criteria that was approved by the MSG Leaders,” DG Louma added.
The DG also underscored that the powers to make a decision on Membership matters in the MSG, rests with the MSG Leaders which is their exclusive preserve.
Caption: ULMWP Chairman Benny Wenda (middle) and DG Louma (2nd from right) following the meeting this week.




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2) Police and National Army Personnel Arrest Two Arms Dealer in Papua

Translator Mahinda Arkyasa 
Editor Mahinda Arkyasa 
21 January 2023 00:23 WIB

TEMPO.COJakarta - Joint personnel of the Indonesian National Army and the National Police managed to foil an arms trade involving the Armed Criminal Group (KKB) at Iwot Traditional Port in Boven Digoel, South Papua on Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

The joint personnel arrested two suspects while the remaining three managed to escape

Chief of Boven Digoel Resort Police Adj. Great Commissioner I Komang Budhiarta said that the two arrested perpetrators were identified as AH (20 y.o.) and MK (22 y.o.). The Police confiscated four rifles, 18 12 GS caliber ammunition, and Rp3.8 million in cash.

"The arrest was intentional because initially the officers were responding to reports of disturbance caused by drunk people at the Iwot Traditional Port, on Wednesday morning around 09:00 Eastern Indonesia Time," Komang said on Friday, January 20, 2023.

Komang said that the police responded to the report, but later found five suspicious persons, which were immediately halted by the officers.

When the officers were about to conduct an examination, three of them fled and the other two were successfully apprehended.

"The two persons were then transported to Boven Digoel Resort Police to be examined and has been determined as suspects for illegal possession of firearms," Komang added.

Komang explained that the two suspects are charged with Article 1 paragraph (1) of Emergency Law Np. 12 of 1951 in conjunction with Article 55 of the Criminal Code with subject to capital punishment, lifetime imprisonment, or 20 years of imprisonment.

"We call on the people to remain calm because officers remained solid in maintaining security in Boven Digoel Regency. It is true that the border area is wide and there are many access points to Papua New Guinea, we, therefore, requested for the Regional Government support," Komang concluded.

ANTARA


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3) Family of Mimika mutilation victims disappointed perpetrator charged with 4 years in prison   
News Desk - Murder Of 4 Nduga Residents In Mimika
 20 January 2023

Jayapura, Jubi – The families of the four Nduga residents victims of murder and mutilation were disappointed with the Military prosecutor’s charges against the defendant Maj. Inf Helmanto Fransiskus Dakhi in a trial held by the Surabaya High Military Court III at the Military Court III-19 in Jayapura City on Thursday, January 19, 2023.

The victims’ lawyer also questioned the prosecutor’s construction of the indictment for Helmanto Fransiskus Dakhi, which led to what they considered as weak punishment, namely a 4-year prison sentence and dismissal from the Army service to Dakhi.

The families of victims were disappointed with the charges brought against Dakhi in Thursday’s hearing. “To this day, our families have not received the heads, feet and hands of the four victims. What was cremated was only part of the body. The charges are not comparable to the crime done,” said Pale Gwijangge, one of the victims’ relatives who was presented as a witness in the previous trial on Wednesday.

Helmanto Fransiskus Dakhi is one of six soldiers of the Raider 20/Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade who are defendants in the murder and mutilation of four Nduga residents (Arnold Lokbere, Irian Nirigi, Lemaniel Nirigi, and Atis Tini) that occurred in Settlement Unit 1, Mimika Baru District, Mimika Regency on August 22, 2022. The other five defendants are Capt. Inf Dominggus Kainama (who died on December 24, 2022 due to heart disease), First Pvt. Rahmat Amin Sese, First Pvt. Rizky Oktaf Muliawan, First Pvt. Robertus Putra Clinsman, and Chief Pvt. Pargo Rumbouw.

Dakhi’s trial was examined by a panel of judges of the High Military Court III Surabaya led by chief judge Col. Chk Sultan, with member judges Col. Chk Agus Husin and Col. Chk Prastiti Siswayani. The witness examination session of the case was moved to Military Court III-19 Jayapura because most of the witnesses were in Papua.

Pale Gwijangge emphasized that the trial of Dakhi’s case had clearly proven that Dakhi was involved in the entire process and planned the murder and mutilation. Aptoro Lokbere, Arnold Lokbere’s brother, echoed Gwijangge, saying that the Military prosecutor’s did not side with the victims. “They killed and mutilated humans. What they did was heinous and unforgivable,” said Aptoro.

The offense of premeditated murder as stipulated in Article 340 of the Criminal Code carries a maximum penalty of death. According to Aptoro, that is what should be charged against the perpetrators. The current charges, Aptoro said, were not commensurate with the actions of the defendant. “We ask that Maj. Dakhi be treated the same as his subordinates, because in the reconstruction it was proven that he was fully involved in the crime,” he said.

Construction of indictment implausible

The victims’ lawyer, Gustaf Kawer, said that since the beginning of the trial, the prosecutor and the panel of judges had not communicated with the families of victims. Kawer also questioned why the offense of premeditated murder was not charged to Dakhi as a primary charge as to the other five defendants.

Kawer hopes that the panel of judges will make a different verdict from the prosecutor’s recommendation. “That can happen if the judges stick to the facts of the trial, wherein there is an element of murder planning,” Kawer said.

Kawer said that the witnesses presented in Dakhi’s case gave clear testimony about Dakhi’s involvement in arranging tactics on August 19, 2022 regarding how to trap the victim. The trial also showed that Dakhi was at the fuel warehouse owned by witness Jack on August 20, 2022, and knew about the cancellation of the planned weapon sale transaction on August 21, 2022.

“The defendant also knew about the incident on the night of August 22, 2022, up until the four victims were dumped in the Pigapu River. Even the money that was divided up was from the planning results. So if the charge is Article 480 of the Criminal Code, that is not the case, this is a premeditated murder that cruelly took the lives of four Nduga residents,” he continued.

“Therefore, we really hope that the panel of judges can give the maximum sentence in accordance with the provisions of Article 340 of the Criminal Code. We don’t want the case to be like other cases, such as the death of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani and the shooting of students in, whose legal processes remain unclear,” Kawer said.

Previously, during the trial of the Mimika murder and mutilation case in Surabaya on December 19, 2022, Dakhi was charged by prosecutor Lt. Col. Chk Eri with multiple charges including the article on premeditated murder which carries the death penalty. However, the premeditated murder charge was placed by the prosecutor not as the primary charge.

In the first primary charge, the prosecutor charged Dakhi with Article 480 paragraph 2 jo 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code (on jointly or severally benefiting from the proceeds of an object which he knows or reasonably should suspect that it has been obtained by crime), which carries a maximum penalty of four years imprisonment. (*)

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