Verdict on violence in Papua unjust, says Kontras

Verdict on violence in Papua unjust, says Kontras

Bintang Papua, 3 February 2011 [Translated in full by TAPOL]

Jayapura: Although the three members of the armed forces who were sentenced for acts of violence against civilians have accepted the verdict and are now serving their sentences in a military prison, some sources believe that the verdict is far from just.

The chairman of KontraS Papua, Johanis Maturbongs SH, is of the opinion that the sentence passed against the three soldiers at the military tribunal is far from just. The sentences of ten months for Sergeant Riski Irwanto, nine months for Private Yapson Agu and eight months for Private Thamrin Mahangiri were far too lenient. This punishment cannot be compared to the trauma suffered by the victims of their acts of violence.

Cases of this nature should be tried before a civil court or a human rights court as stipulated in the Special Autonomy Law.

'If such a case of human rights violations is heard before a military tribunal, the result is bound to be far from adequate.,' said Maturbongs, a law graduate from Cenderawasih University. He said that things like this have been happening for a long time, and with violations that are even worse than this one, but nothing is known about what has happened.

He also said that the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) in Papua should be far more active so as to ensure that such cases are read about in the public domain.

'Our friends in Komnas HAM in Papua have not been working to full capacity. They need to work far harder with regard to human rights violations which occur in Papua,' he said.

The same also applies to the legislature, which should do everything in its power to ensure that a human rights court is set up in Papua.''

ENDS

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