1) Lawyer calls on judges to release Buchtar after all witnesses fail to appear
2) No terrorists in Papua, says governor
3) KNPB ask the police what their charges were against Mako Tabuni
4) SBY to visit UK in October
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from Tapol
1) Lawyer calls on judges to release Buchtar after all witnesses fail to appear
Bintang Papua, 11 September 2012
Jayapura: Gustaf Kawer, one of the lawyers defending the former chairman of the KNPB - National Committee of West Papua - said that the judges hearing the case of Buchtar Tabuni should have the courage to release the defendant in the absence of any witnesses to testify against him. The lawyer said this followed the decision yesterday to postpone a further hearing in the trial.
He said that from the start, he had commented that the the prosecutor in the case had shown no seriousness in handling the case against Buchtar. This is evident from the fact that none of the witnesses he had wanted to testify at the trial had appeared although several hearings had been held.
'In the latest instance, the witness Matius Murib was to have appeared but he didn't appear, even though he is known to be in Jayapura and his home address in known, so why did he not appear?'
The lawyer said Matius Murib is known to be well acquainted with the case and the judges should consider that if there is no evidence to prove that Buchter was responsible for damaging the prison in any way, which was to have been proven by the witnesses all of whom had failed to appear, then the judges should take the bold step of simply releasing the man who is now on trial.
The lawyer also spoke about the many shootings that have been occurring in the city of Jayapura which have been linked to Buchtar, which was nothing more than a set-up. He said that Buchtar had been linked to the shooting of Wiron Wetipo but that case has already been solved, so it was clear that the authorities were trying to make a scapegoat of Buchtar. Buchtar was arrested on 6 June 2012 which was just at the time when some shootings occurred in Jayapura which was followed by the arrest of Buchtar, whereas Buchtar was not in any way connected with those shootings. So instead of being charged with the shootings, he now faces the charge of inflicting damage on the Abepura Prison in 2010, which means that he should have been arrested in 2010.
At the time, it was said that there were plenty of witnesses and now they were not even able to call Matius Murib as a witness.
The lawyer said that the panel of judges should postpone further hearings until Matius Murib could be called as his testimony would be crucial for this trial. Gustaf insisted that there were plenty of witnesses who could give testimony regarding the damage inflicted on the prison, yet the prosecutors were not able to get any of these witnesses to appear.
As is known, the hearing on 10 September was again postponed .
At the hearing held yesterday, the prosecutors were still not able to bring any witnesses to court.who would be able to testify about Buchtar's alleged damage to the prison. The prosecutors has also been unable to summon Liberty Sitinjak who would have been a key witness about the incident on 3 December 2010.
The prosecutor announced that Liberty was unable to appear to testify, even though he has been summoned three times. And now, the hearing held on 10 September was also suspended until 13 September while it was being said that Matius Murib, who was formerly and member of the National Human Rights Commission, would also not be able to appear.
It has now been announced that the hearing that is due to take place on 13 September which was originally intended to hear testimony from witnesses would now be devoted to questioning the defendant, Buchtar Tabuni.
[Translated by Carmel Budiardjo]
Jayapura: Gustaf Kawer, one of the lawyers defending the former chairman of the KNPB - National Committee of West Papua - said that the judges hearing the case of Buchtar Tabuni should have the courage to release the defendant in the absence of any witnesses to testify against him. The lawyer said this followed the decision yesterday to postpone a further hearing in the trial.
He said that from the start, he had commented that the the prosecutor in the case had shown no seriousness in handling the case against Buchtar. This is evident from the fact that none of the witnesses he had wanted to testify at the trial had appeared although several hearings had been held.
'In the latest instance, the witness Matius Murib was to have appeared but he didn't appear, even though he is known to be in Jayapura and his home address in known, so why did he not appear?'
The lawyer said Matius Murib is known to be well acquainted with the case and the judges should consider that if there is no evidence to prove that Buchter was responsible for damaging the prison in any way, which was to have been proven by the witnesses all of whom had failed to appear, then the judges should take the bold step of simply releasing the man who is now on trial.
The lawyer also spoke about the many shootings that have been occurring in the city of Jayapura which have been linked to Buchtar, which was nothing more than a set-up. He said that Buchtar had been linked to the shooting of Wiron Wetipo but that case has already been solved, so it was clear that the authorities were trying to make a scapegoat of Buchtar. Buchtar was arrested on 6 June 2012 which was just at the time when some shootings occurred in Jayapura which was followed by the arrest of Buchtar, whereas Buchtar was not in any way connected with those shootings. So instead of being charged with the shootings, he now faces the charge of inflicting damage on the Abepura Prison in 2010, which means that he should have been arrested in 2010.
At the time, it was said that there were plenty of witnesses and now they were not even able to call Matius Murib as a witness.
The lawyer said that the panel of judges should postpone further hearings until Matius Murib could be called as his testimony would be crucial for this trial. Gustaf insisted that there were plenty of witnesses who could give testimony regarding the damage inflicted on the prison, yet the prosecutors were not able to get any of these witnesses to appear.
As is known, the hearing on 10 September was again postponed .
At the hearing held yesterday, the prosecutors were still not able to bring any witnesses to court.who would be able to testify about Buchtar's alleged damage to the prison. The prosecutors has also been unable to summon Liberty Sitinjak who would have been a key witness about the incident on 3 December 2010.
The prosecutor announced that Liberty was unable to appear to testify, even though he has been summoned three times. And now, the hearing held on 10 September was also suspended until 13 September while it was being said that Matius Murib, who was formerly and member of the National Human Rights Commission, would also not be able to appear.
It has now been announced that the hearing that is due to take place on 13 September which was originally intended to hear testimony from witnesses would now be devoted to questioning the defendant, Buchtar Tabuni.
[Translated by Carmel Budiardjo]
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2) No terrorists in Papua, says governor
Bintang Papua, 9 September 2012
Manokwari: The governor of the province of West Papua, Abraham O. Atururi, said that there are no terrorists operating in Papua. He said that there are groups in Papua who are demanding independence for Papua, such as the OPM/TPN but these groups are quite different from the terrorists who are conducting acts of terror and shootings and bombings that are occurring in Java and other parts of Indonesia.
'If people say that there are Papuans who want independence, that is indeed true, but there are no terrorists.'
The governor was speaking at a public meeting in Manokwari.
The governor made this statement in order to contradict statements by political commentators in the local press in Jayapura, claiming that terrorists are operating in Papua.
The paper also reported that the deputy chief of police in Papua, Brigadier-General Paulus Waterpauw recently denied that members of Densus 88 were operating in Papua.
[Translated by Carmel Budiardjo]
Manokwari: The governor of the province of West Papua, Abraham O. Atururi, said that there are no terrorists operating in Papua. He said that there are groups in Papua who are demanding independence for Papua, such as the OPM/TPN but these groups are quite different from the terrorists who are conducting acts of terror and shootings and bombings that are occurring in Java and other parts of Indonesia.
'If people say that there are Papuans who want independence, that is indeed true, but there are no terrorists.'
The governor was speaking at a public meeting in Manokwari.
The governor made this statement in order to contradict statements by political commentators in the local press in Jayapura, claiming that terrorists are operating in Papua.
The paper also reported that the deputy chief of police in Papua, Brigadier-General Paulus Waterpauw recently denied that members of Densus 88 were operating in Papua.
[Translated by Carmel Budiardjo]
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3) KNPB ask the police what their charges were against Mako Tabuni
Bintang Papua, 6 September 2012
Jayapura: At a time when the media is busily reporting about plans for a dialogue between Papua and Jakarta, following the visit to Papua by the Presidential Consultative Council under the leadership of Dr Albert Hasibuan, the KNPB - National Committee for West Papua, has responded by saying that there are issues that need to be discussed before any dialogue can take place.
'Our way to solve the Papuan problem is for a referendum to be held and for the Papuan people to have the freedom run their own affairs in a state of their own.,' said KNPB spokesperson, Wim R. Medlama, who spoke with two other activists alongside. He said people should not be spending too much time talking about the dialogue, because 'the support in favour of freedom is widespread, down to the very roots of Papuan society'.
Another issue that he spoke about was the accusations that had been levelled against the late Mako Tabuni. After the arrest of Danny Kogoya for alleged terrorism and the acts of violence that have been happening in the city of Jayapura, led the KNPB to ask a number of questions. The police were directing their allegations these acts of terror against the late Mako Tabuni.
'We call on the police to reveal who these people are who have been involved in the series of shootings, and we would like to hear the evidence about this. And now the same charges are being levelled against Danny Kogoya, so we would really like to know what facts the police have in relation to all this,' said Medlama.
He said that when Mako Tabuni was shot and killed, all the allegations about the shootings had been directed against the late Mako Tabuni, and then after the arrest of Danny Kogoya, all these allegations were directed against him. 'So what we want to know is what are the facts that have been discovered about all these shootings?'
The NKPB also said that the police should say what ammunition they had discovered at the office of Danny Koyoga. The KNPB accused the police of making this up so as to be able to close down the democratic space for activists in Papua.
The KNPB also called on the police to reveal the truth about the shooting of the German citizen in Base-G, and about the burning of vehicles and their drivers in the Waena cemetery.
{Translated by Carmel Budiardjo]
Jayapura: At a time when the media is busily reporting about plans for a dialogue between Papua and Jakarta, following the visit to Papua by the Presidential Consultative Council under the leadership of Dr Albert Hasibuan, the KNPB - National Committee for West Papua, has responded by saying that there are issues that need to be discussed before any dialogue can take place.
'Our way to solve the Papuan problem is for a referendum to be held and for the Papuan people to have the freedom run their own affairs in a state of their own.,' said KNPB spokesperson, Wim R. Medlama, who spoke with two other activists alongside. He said people should not be spending too much time talking about the dialogue, because 'the support in favour of freedom is widespread, down to the very roots of Papuan society'.
Another issue that he spoke about was the accusations that had been levelled against the late Mako Tabuni. After the arrest of Danny Kogoya for alleged terrorism and the acts of violence that have been happening in the city of Jayapura, led the KNPB to ask a number of questions. The police were directing their allegations these acts of terror against the late Mako Tabuni.
'We call on the police to reveal who these people are who have been involved in the series of shootings, and we would like to hear the evidence about this. And now the same charges are being levelled against Danny Kogoya, so we would really like to know what facts the police have in relation to all this,' said Medlama.
He said that when Mako Tabuni was shot and killed, all the allegations about the shootings had been directed against the late Mako Tabuni, and then after the arrest of Danny Kogoya, all these allegations were directed against him. 'So what we want to know is what are the facts that have been discovered about all these shootings?'
The NKPB also said that the police should say what ammunition they had discovered at the office of Danny Koyoga. The KNPB accused the police of making this up so as to be able to close down the democratic space for activists in Papua.
The KNPB also called on the police to reveal the truth about the shooting of the German citizen in Base-G, and about the burning of vehicles and their drivers in the Waena cemetery.
{Translated by Carmel Budiardjo]
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