Jayapura, 5/1 (Jubi) – Papua Legislator, Decky Nawipa considered the attitude of Soekarno-Hatta Airport Jakarta’s police toward Papuan Freedom leader Filep Karma on Tuesday (January 2) was too much and unnecessary.
Filep Karma, a former and well known Papuan political prisoner, was briefly detained at the airport for wearing a Morning Star badge on his ‘daily civil servant uniform’. Filep Karma is always wearing civil servant uniform with morning star badge in public everywhere.
That is why Decky Nawipa said it was ridiculous to detain Karma based on his wearing of the symbol.
“It’s not a new thing he (Filep Karma) ear the morning star badge on his shirt, and the ever-used pinnacle of a star, has become his identity,” Decky said to Jubi on January 3.
Nawipa said it is odd that Soetta Airport decides to detain and questioning Karma since the badge always stuck on Karma shirt. Wherever he has to travel, domestic or international, he always wears it.
“Why is it now being questioned? People wearing such badge are not automatically categorized as independent Papuans,” he said.
According to him, limiting and prohibiting the attributes of the morning star is not new for indigenous Papuans.
“It has been around since the Netherlands still occupied West Papua, until West Papua was submitted to Indonesia,” he said.
Quoted from CNN, Papuan independence leader, Filep Karma was briefly detained at Soekarno-Hatta airport police, Jakarta Tuesday (January 1) approximately at 21:00 pm, after getting off the plane.
He was taken to the Soekarno Hatta Airport Police HQ. But he was finally released by human right advocate of Civil Liberty Defender (CLD).
CLD’s activist, Uchok Sigit Prayogi, who accompanied Filep Karma at the Airport Police Headquarters, said based on the information obtained from Filep, at that time; he departed from Yogyakarta to Soekarno Hatta airport.
“When Filep arrived at the airport at about 9 PM, some TNI members were some dressed in civilian clothes, and then took Filep’s lodge to the arrival room,” Uchok told CNNIndonesia.com on Wednesday (January 3).
According to him, Karma said that since the flight from Yogyakarta to Jakarta, he was suspected by one TNI member who happened to be in the plane with him. Members of the TNI had reprimanded Karma because of the attributes Filep charged.
Arriving in the waiting room, a number of security forces then questioning Karma for the Morning Star badge on his outfit.
“In the interrogation process Karma was bombarded with question like investigation, even to the point of threat by breaking the table. It happens until 23:00 PM. Then, the police came and took Karma lodge to the Airport Police Headquarters for questioning. After debating, at 01.00 PM, Karma was finally able to go home,” he said. (tabloidjubi.com/Zely)
