14 February 2012

[Bridged in translation by TAPOL]

At the fourth hearing of the trial of Forkorus Yaboisembut and his
colleagues which was held on 13 February, the panel of judges chaired by
Jack Jacobus Octavianus SH announced that they could not accept the
demurrer of the defendants which was submitted on  30 January, arguing
that it was not in conformity with the law.

But the panel of judges failed to take into consideration the opening
statement of the defendants which analysed the social, political and
economic circumstances currently prevailing or the roots of the conflict
in the Land of Papua at this time.

It was clear that the judges  only take into consideration  the thoughts
and actions of the security forces such as the army, the police and the
prosecutor and are only seeking those aspects of the law  which 
restrict the right to freedom of expression of the majority of the
Papuan people.

The defendants' team of lawyers  went on to say that  the judges hearing
the case are under pressure from forces outside the court of law as is
clear from the fact that the head of the  Prosecutor's Office along with
the military commander of the Cenderawasih military command, the chief
of police in  Papua and the prosecutor's office  were approached prior
to the hearing on 8 February and prior to the hearing held yesterday.

Our impression is, they said, that the powers that be in Indonesia  are
very keenly following every aspect of the trial,  as is evident from
the  extra tight security arrangements; the fact that access for the
press to attend the trial  is very much restricted  while members of the
public are not being allowed to enter the courtroom because it is packed
with intelligence agents and members of various elements of the army and
the police who are busy taking photographs and recording everything
happening from very corner of the courtroom.

Forkorus, speaking on behalf of all the defendants, stood up and
challenged the judges, saying that the judges will not be able to
prevent him as the president of the NRFPB, the Federal Government of
West Papua from reading out their rejection, a copy of which was then
handed to the panel of judges

Responding to the statement of the defendants, Yan Christian Warinussy,
a member of their legal team, said that the panel of judges should not
at the forthcoming hearing try to restrict the defendants from
expressing their views but should use those elements in the Criminal
Code by simply noting the reports of the interrogations of the
defendants (BAP).

The judges decision rejecting the defendants demurrer also called forth
a strong statement from Yan Christian Warinussy who said that he did not
agree with the viewpoint of the judges which only reflects the
difference of opinion between the judges and the prosecutors and the
legal team of the defendants, and he went on to say that it was wrong to
say that their demurrer is not based on the law.

The team of lawyers also said that  the trial should be accessible to
the international community and members of the diplomat corps in Jakarta
so that they are able to follow developments in the trial.

The panel of judges then announced that the next hearing would take
place on Friday, 17 February, when witnesses for the prosecution would
be heard, most of whom are members of the police force which was
involved in the attcks against the defendants and the mass of people,
following the closure of the Papuan Peoples Conference (KRP III) on19
October last year.