De minister van Buitenlandse Zaken
Dr. U. Rosenthal
Postbus 20061
2500 EB DEN HAAG
Datum: 29 januari 2011
Betreft: Veroordeling inzake "martelvideo" Papua
Geachte heer Rosenthal,
In onze brief van 21 oktober 2010 spraken wij onze afkeuring uit over de flagrante mensenrechtenschendingen, zoals getoond op de video opname welke werd verspreid door o.a. de Asian Human Rights Commission*.
Inmiddels heeft de veroordeling van drie betrokkenen door een militaire rechtbank in Jayapura op maandag 24 januari 2011 plaatsgevonden en zijn zij veroordeeld, niet voor marteling maar voor het negeren van orders, tot een gevangenisstraf van 8 tot 10 maanden.
In de beantwoording van Kamervragen** beschouwde u het als een positieve ontwikkeling, dat de Indonesische autoriteiten proactief reageerden op de publicatie van de video, ook naar de internationale gemeenschap.
Mensenrechtenorganisaties, evenals de Australische en Amerikaanse regering reageerden eveneens proactief op de veroordeling, zoals u op (een willekeurige selectie) kunt lezen in de bijlage.
De minister van buitenlandse zaken Marty Natalegawa beloofde, zoals u ons schreef, de eindresultaten van het onderzoek met Nederland te delen.
Graag vernemen wij van u, of de minister zich aan deze belofte heeft gehouden en zo de resultaten nog niet zijn gedeeld of u bereid bent alsnog te vragen naar de rapportage van dit onderzoek.
Ook worden wij graag geïnformeerd over het standpunt van de Nederlandse regering met betrekking tot dit onderzoek, evenals uw standpunt met betrekking tot de veroordeling van de betrokkenen voor het “negeren van orders” in plaats van “marteling”
Met vriendelijke groet,
Stichting Pro Papua
Koen J. de Jager
* http://video.ahrchk.net/AHRC-VID-012-2010-Indonesia.html
** ingezonden 22 oktober 2010 met kenmerk 2010Z15119
c.c. diverse mensenrechtenorg. in o.a. Australië, Duitsland, Engeland, Nederland, Nieuw Zeeland en de U.S..
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Comments on the “torture video” verdict
The Jakarta Post
January 25, 2011
National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) member Ridha Saleh said he was disappointed with the verdicts and with the insubordination charge levied against the defendants. Komnas HAM’s probe of the case did not result in a recommendation to form a human rights tribunal to try the soldiers.
Haris Azhar, chairman of the Jakarta-based Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, said that the lenient sentences were proof that the TNI was reluctant to reform. “The court only punished low-ranking [non-commissioned] officers, while their superiors were untouched,” Haris said.
Usman Hamid from the International Center for Transitional Justice called the rulings as a “miscarriage of justice”.
London-based Amnesty International said it was “concerned that these sentences do not match the severity of the crimes”. “The fact that the victims were too frightened to testify due to the lack of adequate safety guarantees raises serious questions about the trial process,” Laura Haigh, the group’s Southeast Asia Research and Campaign Assistant, said.
The New York Times
January 25, 2011
The resulting process has been a “joke,” said Elaine Pearson, the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, which is based in New York.
“This was really an important test case for the Indonesian government, and they’ve really failed to show that they’re serious about addressing human rights violations,” Ms. Pearson said.
The Sydney Morning Herald
January 25, 2011
The verdict in the trial - closely watched by embassies and widely seen as a test of Indonesia's commitment to human rights was slammed by activists and met with a terse response from the Australian government. ''The Australian government notes the guilty verdict,'' a department of foreign affairs spokeswoman said in an emailed statement yesterday. ''The Australian government will continue to follow reports of human rights abuses in Indonesia and to raise issues with relevant Indonesian authorities as appropriate.''
The Sydney Morning Herald
January 27, 2011
Australia's response to the outcome of the military court's investigation into the torture of the two West Papuans has been to ''note'' the guilty verdict and assure the world that it ''will continue to follow reports of human rights abuses in Indonesia and to raise issues with relevant Indonesian authorities as appropriate''. But it is clear that President Yudhoyono is unlikely to be moved by such ''noting'' or expressions of concern to relevant authorities as appropriate, from Australia or, in Yudhoyono's words, ''the world, the UN, the EU or the US''.
ABC News/Radio Australia
interview Friday, January 28, 2011
Presenter: Geraldine Coutts
Speaker: Jeff Waters, ABC Senior Correspondent for the Australia Network: Phillip Crowley, who is the spokesman for Hillary Rodham Clinton, has tweeted on the internet saying and I quote, "the sentences issued in an Indonesian military trial do not reflect the seriousness of the abuses of two Papuan men depicted in the 2010 video. Indonesia must hold its armed forces accountable for violations of human rights. We are concerned and will follow this case."