Selphius Bobii may have spent four months in Abepura Penitentiary in Papua on charges of treason after joining the third Papuan People’s Congress last October, but he remains convinced that he was not guilty of any crime.
According to Selphius, then leader of the United Front of West Papuan
Fighters, what he and members of the organization did amounted to an
exercise of their political rights as Papuans, and the central
government should have respected it.
“We held the congress peacefully and engaged in no criminal or violent activity,” he said on Thursday.
Selphius
and six others were found guilty by the Jayapura District Court for
violating Article 106 of the Criminal Code for an act of treason by
holding the congress and declaring the independence of West Papua.
Before
Selphius, dozens of other Papuan political activists had been
imprisoned under Article 106 for various actions, ranging from the
non-violent hoisting of the Papuan Morning Star flag to the decidedly
more serious forceful entry into a police armory.
Data from
National Papua Solidarity (NAPAS) claims there are now 45 political
prisoners held inside a number of penitentiaries, namely Abepura, Biak,
Fak Fak, Nabire, Serui, Timika and Wamena.
Although international
organizations like Amnesty International and the Asian Human Rights
Commission (AHRC) categorize Selphius and his fellow activists as
political prisoners, the Indonesian government considers them
criminals.
“They
were charged with acts of treason under articles in the Criminal Code,
which means that they are criminals. However, some people consider them
political prisoners as their actions were based on a political
ideology,” said Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana,
acknowledging the contentious nature of the prisoners’ status.
Following
the downfall of the New Order regime in 1998, the government had
unconditionally released “all” political prisoners, including
individuals jailed since the 1965 anti-communist purges and political
prisoners from Aceh and Timor Leste, who were arrested during the
administration of former president Soeharto.
Because the
Indonesian government does not recognize him as a political prisoner,
prison guards treat Selphius and other Papuan activists the same as drug
dealers, robbers or murderers.
Selphius said that some prisoners were in critical condition and prevented from accessing proper medical treatment.
Filep
Karma, a 50-year-old convict who was sentenced to 15 years for raising
the Morning Star flag in 2004, suffers from colon cancer but cannot get
treatment in Jakarta until he receives government permission.
“We
raised money for his medical treatment because he refused to pay them
[the prison] but we are still negotiating for [authorization for] him to
go to Jakarta,” he said.
Another prisoner, Ferdinand Pakage, who
was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder of a police officer
in March 2006, under what human rights activists describe as
questionable circumstances, reportedly suffered the permanent loss of
sight in his right eye and chronic acute headaches as a result of police
brutality.
“Ferdinand’s family and friends have gathered money
for the treatment of his eye, but we can’t get the permit for him to go
out of the prison,” Selphius said.
NAPAS coordinator Marthen Goo
said that paying for the medical treatment should be the government’s
obligation. “However, officials say they don’t have the money,” Marthen
said, adding that if the government refused to take care of them while
in prison, the prisoners should be released.
Selphius demanded
that the government unconditionally release all political prisoners in
Indonesia and start a democratic process in Papua.
“How can
Indonesia call itself a democratic country if its government bans a very
basic right of democracy — the freedom of expression?” Selphius said.
Neles
Tebay, an activist with the Peaceful Papua Network, said that the fact
that people were locked up for political reasons indicated that there
was a political problem in Papua. He called on the government to release
the prisoners. “After releasing the prisoners, then we can have a
peaceful Jakarta-Papua dialogue,” said Neles.