Special Focus Cases
Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, Prisoners of Conscience
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INDONESIA
 Filep Karma © ELSHAM |
For peacefully raising a flag, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage may spend the next decade or more in prison in Indonesia.
On December 1, 2004, some 200 people participated in a nonviolent ceremony outside Abepura in Papua Province during which the Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence, was raised in commemoration of the declaration of Papuan independence in 1962. The commemoration is celebrated annually by some Papuans. While approximately 200 people took part in the December 1 ceremony, hundreds more local people watched from the edge of the fields.
Indonesian police advanced on the crowd, firing shots and beating people with batons. At least four people were reportedly injured by bullets fired by the police, including two with wounds to the head. Police reportedly beat a human rights monitor from the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy who was trying to photograph the police attack on the crowd. Outnumbered by the crowd, the police retreated temporarily until reinforcements arrived. They were then able to force an end to the ceremony.
Police arrested Filep Karma at the site of the ceremony, and reportedly beat and stomped on him during transport to the police station. A group of about 20 people were later arrested at the police station when they went to protest Mr. Karma’s arrest. This group was subsequently released, except for Yusak Pakage, who remained in detention with Filep Karma. The two men were later charged with rebellion for their role in leading and organizing the flag-raising event.
Supporters of independence for Papua Province have been among those jailed as prisoners of conscience in Indonesia. Simply attending a meeting at which the political status of Papua has been discussed can lead to one’s arrest.
 Yusak Pakage © ELSHAM |
In May 2005, a court sentenced Filep Karma to 15 years in prison and Yusak Pakage to 10 years on charges of treason for having "betrayed" Indonesia by flying the outlawed Papua flag.
While Amnesty International takes no position on the political status of any province of Indonesia, it believes that the right to freedom of expression includes the right to peacefully advocate independence or other political solutions and that these rights must be upheld.
Amnesty International considers Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage to be prisoners of conscience who have been detained purely for the peaceful and legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of expression. It calls on the government to free them and all other prisoners of conscience in Indonesia.
BACKGROUND
Following the forced resignation of former Indonesian President Suharto in 1998, over 230 political prisoners were released in a series of presidential amnesties, and repressive legislation limiting freedom of expression fell out of use for a brief period of time. Since early 2001, however, such legislation has once again been used with increasing frequency against government critics, including labor and political activists, journalists, and independence activists in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) and Papua Provinces. A number of human rights organizations have also been charged with “defamation,” in what appears to be an attempt by the authorities to discredit them and disrupt their legitimate work.
More than 60 prisoners of conscience have been sentenced to prison terms since 1998. Hundreds more political prisoners have faced trial in the provinces of Aceh, Papua and Maluku, and Amnesty International believes that many may have been convicted solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression.
Amnesty International has called on the Indonesian government to repeal repressive laws that have been used to imprison prisoners of conscience.
