JAYAPURA, SUARAPAPUA.com – The Chairperson of the Central West Papua National Committee (KNPB) has been released from the Class II B Prison in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Wednesday, August 12, 2020, after serving a sentence of 11 months in prison.
The general chairman of the Central KNPB, Agus Kossay, was picked up by a team of attorneys, families and 3 former Papuan racist victims who were previously free, including Hengky Hilapok, Bucthar Tabuni, and Steven Itlay.
“I, my family and the organizations also express a huge gratitude to all those who support us. 7 Papuan racist victims of political prisoners, who have undergone legal proceedings in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia,” said Agus to suarapapua.com by phone from East Kalimantan on Wednesday (12 / 8/2020).
Agus expressed his gratitude to the team of lawyers, addicts for humanity, justice and peace who are members of the national solidarity of the Indonesian people and international solidarity, all the people of West Papua who continue to support us individually, families, groups, organizations and community institutions and the government for humanitarian values in Papua and all West Papuan fighters who never tire of campaigning for the legal process of all political prisoners who are racist victims in Papua.
“I want to convey to the people of West Papua that every Papuan fighter arrested and imprisoned by the Indonesian colonial authorities is a form of acknowledgment of the Papuan struggle. This practice continues to occur in areas that are experiencing colonial occupation,” he said.
He also emphasized that free from prison is not the end of the struggle of the West Papuan people, but as long as the Indonesian colonial rulers are still colonizing, during that time the right to self-determination continues to be fought for until justice and peace are realized in West Papua.
“Prison is nothing extraordinary. A prison for the people of West Papua is like a free hotel that is considered mediocre. What is extraordinary for the fighters and people of West Papua is the realization of the ideals of the Papuan Nation, namely independence and self-rule in West Papua. If that has not been realized, I will continue to speak out about colonial injustice against human values in Papua to the death,” he said. (*)
