Socrates Yoman rejects police summons; Alleged OPM attack on civilian in Mulia Bintang Papua, 8 August 2010

Socrates Yoman rejects police summons; Alleged OPM attack on civilian in Mulia Bintang Papua, 8 August 2010
Translated by TAPOL

Yoman Socrates: Church is not subordinate to government or security force s

JAYAPURA: A summons from the police in Papua dated 7 August to Sofyan
Yoman , in connection with a statement he made regarding actions of the
army and police in Puncak Jaya will be ignored, he said. Duma Socrates said no one should run away with the idea that the
security forces, namely the TNI/Polri, are purveyors of the truth.This
is the old way of thinking that has no relevance in the present era.

'I will never respond to a summons to give clarifications to the police
in Papua, as demanded in their summons of 7 August 2010.' said the
chairman of the Central Board of the United Baptist Churches in Papua.

Duma Socrates said that the statement he made, as reported in the media
last Friday regarding the involvement of the security forces in the
never-ending problem in the district of Puncak Jaya, along with data
about their involvement is accurate.

'What I was reported to have said is not rubbish. There is good reason
for us to have made that statement, we have the data and we have the
experience. The government and the security forces misrepresent the
situation and they fail to understand us. We are not an ignorant people
who are deaf, dumb and blind,' he said.

The church, he said, is not subordinate to the government and the
security forces. The Baptist Church is independent and autonomous. In
the interest of the sacred spirit, the church will at all times voice
the fate of its people who are voiceless and oppressed.

'We continue to be amazed that the acts of violence that have been
happening since 2004 in Puncak Jaya have continued to this day . Why
have the security forces with all their intelligence agencies not been
able to detect the people alleged to be from the OPM who are causing all
this disruption?'

'What we hope for is that the security forces should end this game that
is going on in the Land of Papua, in particular by the police for its
groundless summons to me, bearing in mind that I am part owner of this
country and one of its legatees.'

He said that the police should stop summoning indigenous Papua. Let's
live together, side by side, as equals, respecting each other.' Dont
treat the creatures of the Lord like hunted animals, stigmatised,
trivialising the people of God,' he said.

He said that the time had come for this game-playing to end, in the
interest of justice, peace and human rights.