Hayley J. Campbell
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania
JAYAPURA, Papua – A High Court in Papua has sentenced 11 peaceful protesters to prison for waving a banned flag.
Jack Wanaggai was among the activists arrested in March 2007 for participating in a peaceful demonstration in support of Papua’s independence from Indonesia. The Indonesian government has harshly condemned separatist demonstrations including waving flags containing separatist symbols.
Indonesia’s criminal code strictly prohibits the display of the Morning Star Flag in Papua, the South Maluku Republic Benang Raja flag in Ambon, and the Crescent Moon flag in Aceh. Activists caught displaying such flags may receive as much as life in prison.
Wanggai’s lawyer, Yan Christian Warinussy said that, “the activists were carrying out peaceful demonstrations … and they brought the Morning Star flag.”
On Thursday, a High Court in Jayapura, Papua’s provincial capital, increased the sentences of the 11 Papuan activists. Wangggai received a three and a half year prison sentence, while the other 10 protestors received three years.
Separatist protests and demonstrations for independence have long marked Papua’s history. Once a Dutch colony on New Guinea’s western end, Papua became Indonesia’s largest province in 1969. Violence erupted in 2003 after President Megawati Sukarnoputri separated Papua into three provinces: Central Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Tengah), Papua (or East Irian Jaya, Irian Jaya Timur), and West Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Barat).
The separation has divided Papuans who accuse the Indonesian military of violating human rights. In addition, many Papuans complain that the money earned from Papua’s natural resources mostly ends up profiting Jakarta. As a result, Papuans have campaigned peacefully for their independence.
For more information, please see:
Sydney Morning Herald – Indonesia jails 11 Papuans over flag – 09 January 2009
Radio New Zealand International – 11 Papuans jailed in Indonesia for separatist activities – 09 January 2009
Jakarta Globe National – Verdicts Upheld for Morning Star Raisers – 09 January 2009
