More reports about arrest of medical personnel in Jayapura

More reports about arrest of medical personnel in Jayapura

JUBI 16 March 2011

The National Union of Indonesian Nurses has called on the police in the province of Papua to release the eight nurses who work at the Jayapura Dok II General Hospital. The chairman of the organisation, Marthen Sagrim, said that failure to release the eight would create many problems.

He said that at the very least, they should not be held for long but the best would be for all of them to be released quickly. 'I can say for certain that the strike that is going on will have serious repercussions for everyone.'

He went on to say that his organisation had been in contact with nurses who are now on strike to ask them to return to their duties while waiting for the incentive payment to be paid. He said that a meeting that had been held at a hotel in Jayapura on Monday this week and had taken a number of decisions and nurses had returned to their duties on Tuesday, yet even so, there was this unexpected news about the eight arrests. 'This simply does not make sense,' he said. 'These cases should be processed immediately and the people freed.'

He also said that he had made contact with all sides for a quick solution to the problem, including with the criminal investigation unit of the police and the DPRP, the Papuan Provincial Assembly.

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JUBI 15 March 2011

It was the demand for the payment of the incentive fee to nurses at Dok II Hospital that led to a strike by a number of nurses, after which eight of the nurses were arrested by the local police. The arrests took place on Monday this week and several hours later, dozens of nurses went to police headquarters in Jayapura..

The arrested nurses are: Leni Ebe, Popi Maure, Lativa Rumkabu, Stefi Siahaya, Yolanda Inauri, Menaim Anonggear and Delila Ataruri. [Only seven names.]

Speaking on behalf of the arrested people, their lawyer, Anum Siregar said that the police action in arresting them was excessive. People just came out to demand their right to be paid. The police action] is damaging for the whole community,' she said.

She said that the demand should be properly resolved. What the police have done is not right and will only complicate matters. Actions of solidarity will only intensify.'

She said that this matter is not one for the police to handle but for the government to solve.

The eight people are still in police custody and are undergoing interrogation, but the police have made no comment about the case.

As previously reported, the provincial administration promised that nurses would receive an incentive payment in 2010, and that the payment would be made in December 2010, but this did not happen.

ENDS

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