Content warning: This story discusses rape and violence.

Police in Papua New Guinea have arrested nine more men in connection with the rape and murder of a Port Moresby woman.

The arrests, announced by Police Commissioner David Manning, follow a two-week investigation supported by forensic experts from the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Margaret Gabriel, 32, was abducted from her home at Port Moresby’s Watermark Estate by more than 20 armed men. She was was later raped and murdered.

• READ MORE: Papua New Guinea: A Jiwaka woman’s journey to ending violence in her community
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The attack sparked nationwide outrage, with calls for stronger protections for women and faster justice in gender-based violence cases.

Commissioner Manning confirmed the suspects were apprehended on February 27 and subjected to DNA and fingerprint testing.

“DNA evidence and fingerprints are conclusive forensic evidence and afford irrefutable evidence to ensure convictions in a court of law,” he said.

The nine men join three others already in custody, though police have not clarified their specific roles in the crime.

Forensic analysis
AFP forensic specialists from Canberra assisted PNG’s Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) in analysing evidence.

Manning praised the collaboration, saying it underscored the integration of these advanced investigative techniques into PNG’s investigations is strengthening the cases put before the court.

Gender-based violence remains pervasive in PNG, with a 2023 UN report noting that more than two-thirds of women experience physical or sexual abuse in their lifetimes.

Limited forensic resources and slow judicial processes have historically hampered prosecutions.

Police increasingly rely on international partnerships, including a longstanding forensics programme with Australia, to address these gaps.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A disturbing video has surfaced of a female, alleged to be a rape victim, attempting to jump out of the Kuri Dom Lecture Building at the University of Papua New Guinea.

UPNG Students Representative Council (SRC) president Joel Rimbu has dispelled this allegation, saying that the female was not a student — she was an outsider visiting her boyfriend, who is alleged to be a staff member.

An argument broke out during their rendezvous where the frustrated female attempted to jump out of the building, while students filmed.

• READ MORE: Other UPNG security reports

Rimbu said he was at the location assessing the situation with Uniforce Security of UPNG.

“She was later dropped of at the nearest bus stop to go home,” he said.

“She refused to take the matter to the police.”

Speaking about the safety of female students on campus, the SRC female vice-president, Ni Yumei Paul, immediately raised the incident with the Campus Risk Group (UniForce) and they were assured that the group would investigate and report back next week.

A woman who was part of a group kidnapped in Papua New Guinea in February has spoken out after the kidnapping and reported rape of 17 schoolgirls in the same area of Southern Highlands earlier this month.

Cathy Alex, the New Zealand-born Australian academic Bryce Barker and two female researchers, were taken in the Mt Bosavi region and held for ransom.

They were all released when the Papua New Guinea government paid a ransom of US$28,000 to the kidnappers to secure their release.

• LISTEN TO RNZ PACIFIC WAVES: Cathy Alex’s kidnapping story
• Other PNG kidnapping reports

Alex, who heads the Advancing Women’s Leaders’ Network, said that what the 17 abducted girls had gone through prompted her to speak out, after the country, she believed, had done nothing.

A local said family members of the girls negotiated with the captors and were eventually able to secure their release.

The villagers reportedly paid an undisclosed amount of cash and a few pigs as the ransom.

Alex said she and the other women in her group had feared they would be raped when they were kidnapped.

‘My life preserved’
“My life was preserved even though there was a time where the three of us were pushed to go into the jungle so they could do this to us.

“We chose death over being raped. Maybe the men will not understand, but for a woman or a girl rape is far worse than death.”

Alex said they had had received a commitment that they would not be touched, so the revelations about what happened to the teenage girls was horrifying.

She said her experience gave her some insight into the age and temperament of the kidnappers.

“Young boys, 16 and up, a few others. No Tok Pisin, no English. It’s a generation that’s been out there that has had no opportunities. What is happening in Bosavi is a glimpse, a dark glimpse of where our country is heading to.”

The teenage girls from the most recent kidnapping are now safe and being cared for but they cannot return to their village because it is too dangerous.

Need for focus
Cathy Alex said there was a need for a focus on providing services to the rural areas as soon as possible.

She said people were resilient and could change, as long as the right leadership was provided.

Bosavi is one of the remotest areas in PNG, with no roads and few services

It suffered significant damage during earthquake in 2018.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Seventeen Papua New Guinean schoolgirls who were kidnapped, raped and held hostage by armed men in Bosavi, Hela, last Wednesday were released yesterday.

The National’s source said they were released following a payment of 3300 kina (NZ$1500) and nine pigs as ransom to the gunmen.

“The females were released but they are traumatised. Some of them are just girls. It is the first time for them to be exposed to this kind of violence,” said the source.

• READ MORE: Armed gunmen kidnap 17 girls from remote PNG village – freed for ransom
• Two countries, two kidnappings – Port Moresby shows Jakarta how it’s done with 3 PNG hostages freed
• Marape clarifies kidnappers were paid K100,000 for freeing PNG hostages
• Other PNG kidnapping reports

“Meanwhile, the teachers of Walagu Primary School are still on the run, with the school closed since then.

“A female teacher who was seven months pregnant was airlifted by police to Komo in a chopper yesterday.”

Another government worker said: “Last week 40 armed men from Komo to Bosavi had accused the villagers for reporting them to police in the last kidnap incident [in February].

“They went to Komo passing through Walagu village near Mt Sisa.

‘Kidnapped at gunpoint’
“At Walagu, they kidnapped the females at gunpoint saying the villagers had assisted security forces and reported them to have involved in the kidnap of the New Zealand research scientist a few months back.

“They were held hostage at Mt Sisa for three days until their release yesterday.

“We are appealing to the Hela government to stop the smuggling of guns in the province.

“We also appeal to the authorities to arrest the 40 men from Bosavi, as they have raped our children who are between the ages of 13 to 15 and yet they demand a ransom.

“People in authority should meet with all its 24 council wards in Komo-Hulia electorate and arrest youths who have homemade guns in their possessions.”

Police sources also confirmed that the group seemed to be the same one that was involved in the earlier kidnap and ransom in February when the captives included an Australian-based New Zealand academic.

Lack of action ‘serious error’
The lack of follow up action by police and the military was a “serious error of judgement and appears to have emboldened them to continue with this kind of activities an easy money making venture”,  a police source said.

Meanwhile, condemnation of the action and calls for serious government action came from the Member for Koroba-Lake Kopiage, William Bando; the Vanimo Green MP and Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Belden Namah; and the Lutheran Church Head, Dr Jack Urame.

Namah said last night that he was alarmed that the police hierarchy and the ministry had gone silent on a serious issue involving the lives of children.

Majeleen Yanei is a reporter with The National newspaper in Port Moresby. Republished with permission.

Papua New Guinea’s Internal Security Minister Peter Tsiamalili Jr says the Royal PNG Constabulary is “stretched” with only 5000 men and women serving the country of more than 9 million people.

“Now more than ever we need leadership, we are stretched as a force, we all know that — we only have 5000 men,” he said.

“We are making recruitments happen.

• READ MORE:  Two countries, two kidnappings – Port Moresby shows Jakarta how it’s done with 3 PNG hostages freed
• Photo of naked girl with captors causes furore in Papua New Guinea
• Other PNG crime reports

“Issues in Hela — we are making every effort to manage this.

“That is happening in Hela, and it’s across the country. I am asking for help. This issue did not happen overnight, this is a culmination of the neglect our force has faced in the last 10 to 15 years.

“I am having sleepless nights, ensuring we work with the operational side of police. We are looking at stronger laws to deter citizens of such criminal acts.”

The minister — who is in charge of both the police and correctional services — was speaking during Parliament when he was asked by Mul-Baiyer MP Jacob Maki and a supplementary question from Abau MP Sir Puka Temu.

They questioned the minister on law and order issues over the latest crimes committed — in particular the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl in Hela and the kidnapping of researchers in Southern Highlands.

Suspects on social media
Sir Puka said the rise in the use of social media had enabled many to see pictures of the suspects posted on media platforms.

“We have seen the faces of criminals being posted and what is police doing about it?” Sir Puka asked.

“Citizens are using the platform of social media to put out those criminal behaviours.”

The minister said police were working on the issue.

“In terms of the prosecution of those exposed, we have a cybercrime office and team, working on prosecution, there are processes in place,” he said.

“Police have taken action and it is a process that will take place.”

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Papua New Guinea’s death penalty Act of 1984 has been repealed by the National Parliament and all prisoners on death row have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

With the new legislation, the penalty for acts of willful murder due to sorcery, aggravated rape, robbery with violence, treason, piracy and willful murder all will face life imprisonment without parole, or parole after 30 years, after the death penalty provisions were repealed yesterday.

These were among 11 Bills passed by the National Parliament over the past two days before rising and adjourning to February 22.

• READ MORE:  After nearly 70 years, the death penalty again becomes a real prospect in Papua New Guinea
• Other reports on the PNG death sentence

Six of these Bills were presented by Justice Minister Bryan Kramer, who proposed amendments to some of the laws to capture the current needs. They include amendments to the Criminal Code Acts to repeal the death penalty Act 1984.

Kramer said 14 prisoners (including two who have escaped from prison) were put on death row by the courts but remained in custody for a long time because the state failed to put the administrative mechanism and infrastructure in place to implement the death penalty.

He said there were nine other prisoners who were sentenced to death since the reintroduction of the death penalty into the criminal justice system in 1991 but some of them have died awaiting execution while others have appealed or reviewed their sentences at the Supreme Court.

He said one of the inabilities to implement the death penalty is the lack of necessary administrative mechanisms and infrastructures in place to carry out the executions.

Difficult to implement
“This was largely attributed to the difficulty presented by a single method of implementation and administration of the death penalty in the past, which was to be done by hanging,” Kramer said.

“It was in view of this that the government amended Section 614 of the Criminal Code Act, which was intended to give greater flexibility and capability to enable the state to implement the death penalty.

“It provided a range of methods of execution of the death penalty for the government to choose from depending on the government’s preparedness and availability of administrative mechanism and infrastructure suitable to that particular method of execution,” he said.

Kramer said that in 2013 the Chief Secretary put together a technical team comprising of officials from the relevant government agencies and the team went on a fact-finding tour of the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. On their return, the team submitted a report titled: “Implementing the death penalty in PNG”.

He said the NEC endorsed and approved the guidelines for the implementation of the death penalty by lethal injection, firing squad and by hanging, but the government had not used any of these methods proposed.

He said according to the report it would be practically difficult to implement all three methods as they would require different protocols and equipment to be used effectively.

“As such, the government does not have the administrative mechanism and the infrastructure to implement the death penalty.

“Therefore, the Criminal Code Act was reviewed to amend all offences that have the penalty of death to be repealed and replaced with the penalty of life imprisonment with or without parole, or with eligibility for parole after 30 years,” he said.

Republished with permission from the PNG Post-Courier.

Papua New Guinean church workers working behind the scenes to help the terrorised people of the Nankina valley in Madang’s Rai Coast district are now themselves at risk after they were named in a news report.

The missionaries (names withheld) called on the police to send in more manpower to apprehend the “Het Wara” gang, saying their members who are on the ground would now be targeted by the gangsters.

This plea comes shortly after reports came in from sources on the ground that the house of one of the church members was burnt by the gang.

• READ MORE:  Lack of resources delaying police work in Madang: Rubiang
• Other PNG crime reports

One of the missionaries told the Post-Courier that they had not wanted to be named or take credit for what they were doing out of concern for the security of their members on the ground.

“Knowing how this gang operates, they will definitely go after our members when the police leave,” said the missionary.

“Over the course of two years, this gang has killed people who stood up to them, who reported them to authorities or who tried to get help.

“So we appeal to the government and the police, please send in more manpower, end their reign of terror.”

35 homes burnt down
Meanwhile, reports from the area indicate that the gang is continuing to terrorise villagers despite a contingent of policemen flying into the area this week. A total of 35 homes have been burnt down so far, with three men killed and several others severely injured.

There are also reports of an unconfirmed number of women and girls being abducted and raped by the gang in the last three weeks.

Madang police were deployed to the area on Sunday and 10 Northern mobile group policemen were deployed yesterday to beef up manpower to hunt down the gang.

The group was flown in yesterday morning to join the team of 11 from Madang.

Team leader Steven Yalamu told the Post-Courier that the team from Lae arrived safely and were all now based at Tibu.

21 policemen on the ground
“Currently, we have 21 men on the ground but we are looking at bringing in more manpower to hunt down these criminals who have been preying on their own people,” Detective Inspector Yalamu said.

“Also the place is so rugged and mountainous that we have to wait for a helicopter to fly us to where the gang is at now.

“The gang is still active and is moving, attacking other villages that are further away from where we are, but I’d like to remind them that the hand of the law is long and we will still catch up with them.”

Peace and normalcy has been restored at Tibu village where police are now based.

Yalamu called on all Tibu villagers who may still be hiding in the bush to return to their homes and village.

“I also call on all villagers in the area to work with us to apprehend this gang.”

Republished with permission.

Xanana Gusmao’s recent contrived jovial participation in the birthday celebrations of “self-professed” paedophile and defrocked foreign priest Richard Daschbach has shocked many of his supporters, not least his Australian former wife and three Timorese-Australian sons who have publicly condemned the visit and written apologetic letters to the young women who were due to give evidence against Daschbach in court this week.

At the very well-publicised “birthday party” held in the home of a diehard Catholic supporter, Gusmao embraced and hand-fed Daschbach birthday cake, and tipped champagne into his mouth.

The visit has been interpreted as a heavy-handed attempt to whitewash Daschbach’s ruined reputation just before the court case commenced, and intimidate the prosecution, and the young witnesses who are in hiding due to just this sort of pressure.

• READ MORE: Fear still marks the trial of a former priest in Timor-Leste enclave
• More articles on the defrocked paedophile priest case

In blatantly favouring the reputation of an ex-priest over the safety and wellbeing of his alleged victims, these male elites demonstrate a fundamental element of patriarchy defined as: “… a set of social relations between men, which have a material base, and which, through hierarchy, establish or create interdependence and solidarity among men that enable them to dominate women”. (Hartmann, 1979, p11).

Why would Gusmao bother?
It can be explained by long-term patriarchal relationships between particular conservative priests and resistance leaders such as Gusmao, and the almighty political, social and spiritual power of the Catholic Church in Timor-Leste to co-opt political leaders.

Gusmao’s visit is said to have been to honour the ex-priest’s role in the struggle for independence. Yet it also has to do with the low status and lack of power of poor young females, orphans with no one to protect them, and the phenomenal combined power of the clergy and the heroes of the resistance – when these patriarchal forces come together in Timor, very few can contest their will.

Yet some are speaking – and have spoken out – including Gusmao’s Australian sons; more progressive clergy; journalists and their professional association; lawyers representing the victims and others from the legal community; the women’s organisations protecting the alleged victims; and ordinary citizens expressing horror on social media, where the topic has been discussed.

This list will continue to grow. These are the new progressive forces in Timor-Leste contesting the power of the old patriarchal forces.

Daschbach has openly confessed more than once to the crimes, and was expelled from the priesthood and Catholic Church after an investigation in 2018. Since then, the justice system in Timor has struggled with prosecuting the case due to the interference of local religious supporters of the ex-priest, and a lack of appetite for arresting and imprisoning a priest.

While the problem is a global one and not well dealt with anywhere, to understand why this has happened in Timor, some appreciation for the particularities of the Catholic Church there is required.

As a Catholic country, with more than 90 percent adherence, the church wields enormous social, political and spiritual power, and priests are revered as God on earth. Daschbach was treated as a “demigod” with “magical abilities” and a “direct line to Christ”.

People still bow down or kneel and kiss the ring of priests to greet them. Others are simply too afraid to speak out for fear of excommunication, and the social, political and spiritual implications of this for themselves and their families.

Due to the Indonesian occupation, the Catholic Church in Timor-Leste remains “wedded to ideas of hierarchy and obedience” largely unaffected by liberal changes introduced by the second Vatican Council.

The deeply conservative church provides the moral and spiritual underpinning of an unequal gender regime. This leads to the significant conservative impact of religious discourses on gender roles and relationships, sex, reproduction, and homosexuality.

A woman activist explains that Catholic priests will not accept “modern” ideas about gender equality, or address sexual abuse and violence: “… they are more inclined to men’s perspectives and […] the patriarchal mentality“.

The church’s religious doctrines heavily influence government policy, leading to a lack of sex education in schools and reproductive healthcare, including the use of condoms as a protective measure to avoid pregnancy and disease, resulting in many avoidable deaths.

The inner circle: The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission
While the Bishop of Dili has urged all Catholics to respect the Vatican’s decision to expel Daschbach, there’s a hardcore group within the church, led by lawyers from the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, who have led his campaign of support.

Commission members even visited the orphanage where the abuse is alleged to have occurred, and spoke to potential victims and witnesses, as well as parents, police, and lawyers.

In a report, they accuse the Timorese judicial and police authorities and organisations that have supported victims of being a “justice-mafia” and, perversely, of “collective sexual abuse” (for conducting medical examinations), “exploitation of underage girls”, and “human trafficking” (for moving them to a safe house).

By disclosing the names of alleged victims, witnesses, and the suspect himself, one local lawyer says they have broken the law. The Archbishop swiftly sacked the president of the commission.

The gender challenge
Gender relations apparent in contemporary Timorese society are the result of complex political and historical circumstances.

The dominance of men in Timorese history and politics, and the legacy of militarisation and conflict with neighbouring Indonesia during the national struggle for independence (1974-1999) are significant issues in contemporary Timorese society that pose enormous challenges for the nation.

As in most post-conflict societies, the effects of militarisation on society have not been adequately dealt with. I have argued that it was this that led to internal violence among the male political leadership resulting in a national crisis in 2006, and shattering of national reconstruction and development.

A tough and brutalised masculinity has significant damaging effects for the young men who try to live up to it, but also others such as the LGBTI community who face persecution and discrimination.

The negative influence of the Catholic Church on attitudes to homosexuality highlights the crucial work needed to combat the solid wall of intolerance built by conservative forces.

A recent secret research report found that young women have a lack of knowledge, choice, and agency in first sexual experiences leading to sexual abuse. Young women were often unaware that their consent was even required for sex.

In another study, between 20 to 30 percent of men admitted to rape, and in another acceptance of public sexual harassment and forced sex was clear. This may be linked to even higher levels of sexual abuse experienced by men. A shocking 42 percent of the men surveyed in 2016 reported being sexually abused before the age 18.

More powerful men
While research data does not yet exist on perpetrators of male victims, it seems likely that more powerful boys or men from within their own families, communities, clubs, schools and churches were the perpetrators.

The patriarchal hierarchies of power within institutional settings must be challenged if vulnerable people, including women and children, are to be protected – and not just in Timorese society.

There is no disputing that Gusmao completed a Herculean task in leading the East Timorese people to independence, and his resolute leadership and bravery will never – nor should ever – be forgotten.

Yet his reputation is being tarnished by such allegiances to the old authoritarian patriarchal order that he once fought against as a young man. Culture is dynamic, and both internal and external progressive forces signal change in Timor-Leste.

Newer progressive forces in Timor contesting older hierarchies of power are in need of support and international solidarity, and supporters of Timor-Leste, and Gusmao in particular, in Australia and other places need to take note.

There are Timorese men working and advocating for an end to violence against women, alongside Timor’s tenacious women’s movement that has worked so hard in this space, but more political leadership on gendered violence is required by the state.

Timor Leste’s extremely youthful population represents a great opportunity for positive change and renewal.

Dr Sara Niner is a lecturer in anthropology, School of Social Sciences, Monash University. This article is republished from Lens Monash under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Sex workers have urged the Papua New Guinea government to pass a law to protect them after one of them was recently gang-raped, beaten and left to die on a roadside in the capital of Port Moresby.

One told The National: “Yes, she is a prostitute. We all are. And we have our reasons why we are in this trade.

“But we are also Papua New Guineans. We are also human.”

• READ MORE: High cost of living and scarcity of jobs drive Port Moresby prostitution

The sex workers, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition that their identities not be  revealed because they could end up in trouble with the law, said they were forced into the trade not by choice but as a matter of survival.

One said they sold their bodies “for a living out of necessity” knowing there was no law to protect them.

They are afraid to report to police inhumane and cruel acts inflicted on them by men who pay for their services because they can end up in trouble.

“My friend was brutally gang raped. She had to have her [private parts] stitched. She was beaten to the point where she nearly died,” one said.

‘Good Samaritan’ helped victim
She said if not for a “Good Samaritan who found her and rushed her to the hospital”, the co-worker might not be living today to tell her story.

“She can’t even lodge a complaint because prostitution is illegal. We have no rights [protection].

“We can be murdered tomorrow and no one will care because we are prostitutes.

“But [people must remember] that we are also human beings and we are also Papua New Guineans.”

The 24-year-old victim said she was paid to spend an hour with the client.

He took her to a lodge in Port Moresby where eight men raped her. She told of how she called out for help but heard people outside laughing at her.

“No one helped me even though I screamed for help. There were people outside. I could hear them laughing and saying [that I was a prostitute]. Yes, I was paid for one hour with one client only.”

Previous protection bill defeated
“In 2016, a motion to protect sex workers tabled in Parliament by then Sumkar MP Ken Fairweather met strong opposition. It was defeated.

In February this year, Justice Minister and Attorney-General Davis Steven said the position of the law on prostitution in PNG was not clear.

He was waiting for the State Solicitor “to give me specific legal support on matters like that”.

Community Development, Religion and Youth Department acting Secretary Pala Yondi earlier said the department was concerned about sex workers who were abused, assaulted and raped because there were no laws to protect them.

Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG and Solomon Islands Bishop Rochus Tatamai blamed the increase in sex workers on the current “economic crisis”.

The Pacific Media Centre republishes The National articles with permission.

A Vanuatu child rapist and murderer has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The sentence — one of the harshest penalties ever in Vanuatu’s court history — was handed down to Bob Robert inside a packed courtroom yesterday morning.

Close relatives of the victim said the penalty was satisfactory to the family who gave up everything to take Robert to justice for taking the life of their only daughter, six-year-old Florence Iaruel.

READ MORE: Vanuatu Daily Post editorial – tears for little Florence

Florence’s mother burst into tears when Supreme Court Justice Gustaaf Andrée Wiltens started recalling moments of the final horrific hours that her daughter had to go through, without any help, before her dead body was found near a plantation at Etas in April 18, 2018.

Tomorrow will mark a year since the day Florence was tragically taken from her bereaved family.

“The poor innocent 6-year-old child was abused by Robert, while he was on parole, in ways that most people in our society simply cannot imagine or understand,” Justice Wiltens said.

“The sexual offending was truly depraved and reprehensible conduct.”

‘Boxing skills’
The Supreme Court Judge added: “Prior to using his undoubted boxing skills and experience to end Florence’s life in the most violent way imaginable, Robert treated her in an abominable way for his sexual gratification.”

The court heard that on the evening of April, 17, 2018, and through to dawn of the following morning, Robert had been drinking kava and alcohol.

Just after midnight he entered two separate homes with the intent to criminally offend. At the first house, Robert went to the bedside of a young 9-year-old girl and knelt down over the girl before her mother sounded the alarm.

At the second home, he attempted to enter into a room occupied by a young 4-year-old girl who was sleeping inside. He fled when the mother sounded the alarm again.

Justice Wiltens agreed that Robert’s intention when he entered both houses was to have sex with a young child.

After two failed attempts, Robert went to where Florence was. He admitted to forcing her to go with him with the intention “to have sex with her”.

He blocked her mouth to stop her from crying out loud and took her some distance away from their sleeping house where the sexual offending took place. He then punched her chest repeatedly to end her life, in fear of going back to jail.

Body discovered
Her body was discovered by her uncle and two cousins at about 6am on April 18, near a sandalwood plantation.

A post-mortem examination was conducted by Dr Kaloulgivaki, two days after the killing. The cause of the late victim’s death was certified to be severe hemothorax cause by severe traumatic chest injuries and multiple other traumatic injuries which were caused by blunt force (a pooling of blood in the chest cavity).

“The examination revealed that prior to death, multiple traumatic injuries had been caused by blunt force trauma.”

DNA samples were also collected and matched that of the defendant.

Justice Wiltens acknowledged three mitigating factors. These included a custom ceremony which had been performed on behalf of the defendant. He did not participate in that ceremony.

The judge said the ceremony did not amount to significant mitigation.

Robert had pleaded guilty to all the charges against him. The judge also noted that the pleas were not at the first available opportunity. He had entered his pleas after taking legal advice.

Case a precedent
Justice Wiltens also noted that the defendant cooperated with the police during the investigation period.

The final sentences imposed on Robert are as follows: four years imprisonment on each charge for entering a dwelling house and attempting to enter a dwelling house (charges 1 and 2); for abducting a person under 18 years (charge 3), Robert was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment; for aggravated sexual assault on a child under 15 years (charges 4 and 5), he was sentenced to life imprisonment and for premeditated intentional homicide (charge 6), Robert was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Justice Wiltens said given the gravity of Robert’s offending there was no possibility for any of the sentences to be suspended.

While the defence legal counsel is yet to indicate whether or not it will file an appeal, members of the public have welcomed the Supreme Court decision.

Minutes after the sentence was imposed, the Vanuatu Daily Post observed the massive debate it sparked on social media as members of the public applauded the verdict as a milestone in Vanuatu’s judiciary system after criticising the judicial system for being too lenient with murderers and rapists in the past.

The sentence yesterday also reflects the amendment to the Penal Code [CAP 135] by former Justice Minister Ronald Warsal in 2017, which increases the maximum penalty for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 13 years from 14 years in jail to life imprisonment.

This case has set a precedence to any similar case in the future and will also serve as a deterrent message to all offenders.

Richard M. Nanua and Glenda Willie are reporters with the Vanuatu Daily Post.

The Migrant CARE advocacy group has called on Indonesia’s Manpower Ministry to cancel a recent agreement with Saudi Arabia to send Indonesian migrant workers to the kingdom in limited numbers, following the execution of Indonesian worker Tuti Tursilawati on Monday.

Migrant CARE executive director Wahyu Susilo strongly condemned the execution of Tuti by Saudi authorities and urged President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to take significant diplomatic measures in protest against Riyadh, such as scrapping a pilot project to send a limited number of migrant workers to Saudi Arabia.

“President Jokowi must cancel the agreement between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia on the One Channel System [because the execution is] proof that Saudi Arabia does not fulfill the terms and conditions pertaining to the protection of the rights of migrant domestic workers,” Wahyu said in a statement.

READ MORE: The Saudi state-sponsored murder of Khashoggi updates

The assured protection of migrant workers’ rights was an explicit requirement in documents signed by Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri and his Saudi counterpart Ahmed Sulaiman Al Rajhi on October 11, the rights activist said.

The One Channel System was a scheme agreed upon by the labour ministers that would allow Indonesia to send a certain number of workers to the Middle Eastern kingdom, bypassing a 2015 moratorium.

Tuti was sentenced to death in 2011 for beating her employer to death with a stick in self-defence against attempted rape.

She ran away but was raped instead by nine Saudi men before the police brought her into custody, tribunnews.com reported.

She was executed on Monday without prior notification to her family and Indonesian officials.

During a recent joint commission meeting between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi requested the cooperation of Riyadh to provide consular notifications in accordance with the 1963 Vienna Convention on consular relations.

President Jokowi also asked Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al Jubeir for assurances that Indonesian migrant workers’ rights be protected.

“Jokowi must be truly serious in responding to a situation like this. When he met with the Saudi foreign minister, the President asked Saudi Arabia to provide protection for Indonesian migrant workers and work to resolve the [murder of journalist Jamal] Khashoggi in earnest,” Wahyu said.

“It turns out the request was simply ignored.”

Dian Septiari is a Jakarta Post journalist.

India’s Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Jasvantsinh Bhabhor visited Auckland briefly last Saturday to talk about building international relations, but avoided comment on the country’s rape culture.

In light of recent events where two teenage girls living in rural India have been violently raped and then set on fire, Bhabhor declined to comment and restated his visit to New Zealand was solely relationship building.

India’s Tribal Affairs sector focuses on issues in rural Indian communities such as farming, education and cultural laws – which cover how community elders make their own laws surrounding rape.

In one of the past cases, the society’s elders said they had already punished the rapist and murderer with “100 sit-ups” so police involvement was not needed.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticised for his response and inaction over these incidents.

“Our government is committed to building cordial relationships to work towards the progress of all Indians,” said Bhabhor.

The brief stopover was en route to Samoa where the Indian government is working closely with Samoa’s medical centre.

First Samoan visit
High Commissioner Sanjiv Kohli said Bhabhor’s visit to Samoa is a first for any Indian minister in history.

“We have provided Samoa with their entire dialysis units and have even brought patients from Samoa to India for intensive surgeries.

“We are aiming to extend this aid to other countries,” said Kohli.

Twenty-eight-year-old Sukshant Nand who was present at the event said that the Indian minister failed to answer the big questions.

“The elephant in the room was rape culture in rural India which is a matter for Tribal Affairs, but here they are promoting their work in Samoa.

“There is work to be done in their own country,” said Nand.

Bhabhor said that they were taking “major steps” in areas such as demonetisation, GST, free electricity and electrification in rural communities.

However, it remained that both Bhabhor and Kohli were silent on rape issues.

Vandhna Bhan is a student journalist with the AUT School of Communication Studies news website Te Waha Nui.

A former Papua New Guinean police station commander, Chief Inspector Sakawar Kasieng, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for arson and four of his officers were convicted for raping a 17-year-old girl at her family home almost four years ago.

They were each sentenced in the National Court at Wewak to 20 years in prison.

Former Wewak police chief Kasieng, of Sibilanga Village, Sandaun Province, spent four months in custody prior to being sentenced yesterday. He will now spend six years and eight months in hard labour.

Robin Weibi of Tomonoum Village, Nuku, Sandaun Province, Timon Kangapu of Hirae Village, Kopiago, Southern Highlands Province, Stanley Moui Jombu of Passam, East Sepik Province, and Nigel Tianguma Harvey of Mikarew area, Bogia, Madang Province, were each sentenced to 20 years.

They also spent four months in custody. They will now spend 19 years and eight months in jail with hard labour.

They were found guilty and convicted for aggravated rape of the teenager in her room at Kwanumbo Village in the early hours of 7 December 2013.

The victim, who is now 21 years old, gave evidence in court during the trial with her mother and father.

Her father was serving a 40 years in jail sentence for murder when he and other prisoners escaped.

Dawn raid
On 7 December 2013, at least 15 policemen, led by Chief Inspector Kasieng, with the assistance of civilian informants, conducted a dawn raid on a hamlet at Kwanumbo Village, Boikin, East Sepik Province.

This was to capture a number of prison escapees, including the rape victim’s father.

The court heard that during the raid, two houses were torched, items were stolen and the escapees were apprehended and tied up. One escapee had his leg shot at after he had been restrained.

The four named policemen then entered the victim’s house and raped her. Her hands and legs were held onto the floor as each one took his turn to rape her.

When the victim’s mother complained to Chief Inspector Kasieng, she was told to shut up and on the police chief’s orders, she was assaulted and restrained by policemen.

On their arrest, Inspector Kasieng and the four policemen exercised their right to remain silent.

Justice George Manuhu handed down the sentence in Wewak yesterday after he heard a submissions on the sentence by the accused’s lawyer on Monday.

During submissions on Monday, each of the convicted prisoners of the state expressed remorse and willingness to pay compensation.

Failure to control
Former Chief Inspector Kasieng admitted his failure to control the operation, which resulted in the burning down of two houses, the shooting of Joel Pokip in the legs, and the sexual assault on the teenager.

“In any case, the four of you knew the law and you knew that sexually assaulting someone is against the law. So the four of you cannot place all the blame on Kasieng,” Justice Manuhu told them in court.

The court also noted that it was not Kasieng’s first time in court. He had previously been in court for assault and he had failed to pay court-ordered compensation.

“These reports do not help him at all,” the judge told him.

“Fortunately, the victim did not contract any sexual disease, she did not become pregnant, there is no evidence of any mental issues, and she did not suffer from any physical injuries. In relation to the burning down of the house, there was no evidence on the value of the house. These are the factors that are in your favour.

“Against you is that as policemen, you were charged with the responsibility to uphold the law and by virtue of that law, you have a duty to protect the citizens of this country.

‘Acted like criminals’
“But look at what you have done. You acted in contradiction to your duty and committed crimes against the people you were supposed to protect.

“You acted like criminals, all of you,” Justice Manuhu told them.

He said the warrant issued by the court did not authorise them to burn down houses and sexually assault the teenager.

“I don’t know what went through your heads in those two hours you were in the village. You have brought shame upon all of us as officers of the law.”

He said the undisciplined behaviour of policemen in Papua New Guinea was prevalent and destroying the country, and that people awere fed up with hearing about undisciplined policemen.

The Indonesian government’s response in the wake of a spate of rape and murder of young women and children this year has been widely welcomed by the public in general, but concerns remain about the existence of a “rape culture” in which many victims are ignored.

The government response is seen as reactive, providing penalties for crimes against women and children, but doing nothing to reduce the incidence of such crimes or providing more guarantees of safety for the most vulnerable groups in society.

After declaring sexual offences against children an “extraordinary crime” on May 10, President Joko Widodo on May 25 signed a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) stipulating tougher sanctions which include, as a maximum, the death penalty for perpetrators of sexual assault against children.

The Perppu also introduced the potential for chemical castration and computer chip implantation for convicted child assailants.

“We need extraordinary efforts to address such extraordinary crimes which can threaten and endanger the life and the development of our children,” the president said.

The House of Representatives was scheduled to meet on July 27 to discuss ratification of the Perppu.

The new punishments mostly won praise in the country, where there is strong backing for the death penalty. Activists, however, are unhappy, stating the punishments were a knee-jerk reaction and do not provide solutions to address the real problems.

And while the new regulations raised the bar for offenses involving children, they did little to protect women from sexual violence.

Yuyun’s trauma
The reaction from the government followed a public outcry over the grisly gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old school girl, Yuyun, by 14 youths and men in Rejang Lebong regency, Bengkulu. The dead body of the girl was discovered naked and tied up in a ravine on April 4, two days after her family filed a missing persons report.

Her case received little media attention for weeks and might have become just another case that went unnoticed before feminists began a social media campaign seeking justice, as part of their wider campaign to end violence against women and children in Indonesia.

Other cases immediately caught the public eye, including the gang rape of a 19-year-old student in Manado, North Sulawesi, allegedly involving local police officers, and the death of a two-year-old boy in Bogor, West Java after being sexually abused by his neighbor.

The number of cases that have been reported since the Yuyun case attracted national attention suggests that the media has only now decided that such cases are worth the effort of reporting. There are fears that in the past many cases were simply brushed under the carpet by both the police and the media.

A widespread problem
A UN report released in September 2013 showed that almost a quarter of men in parts of Asia admitted to having committed at least one rape.

Ten thousand men from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka took part in the survey. Rape was particularly common within relationships, according to the study.

One in 10 men admitted raping a woman who was not their partner.

In Indonesia, 31.9 percent of respondents admitted forcing a woman to have sex. Nearly three-quarters of those who committed rape said they did so for reasons of “sexual entitlement”.

The second most common motivation reported was rape as a form of entertainment, while some used rape as a form of punishment or because the man was angry. Surprisingly, the least common motivation was alcohol.

Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded over 320,000 cases of violence against women in 2015, with around 11,000 cases were categorized as domestic violence while 1657 cases were sexual violence.

The total number of cases of violence in 2015 represented a significant increase from 293,220 cases in the previous year – and these are only incidents reported to authorities or the commission.

Dominant culture
Experts say women in Indonesia are often resigned to the dominant cultural perspective on gender violence. Many victims choose not to report cases because of family pressure, and sometimes because communities put the blame on them.

Meanwhile, police often have to release perpetrators of domestic sexual violence at the request of their wives and partners.

Law enforcers also apply an outdated definition of rape requiring evidence such as blood and semen. This and the fact that women are often accused of having invited sexual assault underlines the reality that Indonesia, along with so many other countries in Asia, remains a place where gender equality remains a distant dream.

In its annual report for 2015, Komnas Perempuan reported increasing occurrence of sexual assaults, which dominate cases of violence against women, in recent years. It is widely believed the figure is only the tip of an iceberg as most sexual crimes are unreported due to trauma or limited access to justice.

While the situation can be quickly blamed on weak legal enforcement, little has been done to end the rape culture in the society. In a largely patriarchal nation, women are often taught that they need to avoid getting raped but young men are not told that rape represents a serious crime.

Women are still perceived as property in most parts of the country. A “moral defect”, even when it’s a result of violent behavior, will cause the girl to lose her value and create a disgrace to the family.

Meanwhile, male sexual violence is normal and mostly seen as a reflection of power and masculinity. In the case of sexist jokes and verbal offence, women are told to be grateful for being targeted for such behavior because it is a sign that they are good-looking.

A friendly gesture on the part of a woman can be easily mistaken as a sign of promiscuity.

Compromised safety
The widespread “rape culture” clearly has compromised the safety of women, including in public spaces. A bias toward male sexual domination combined with poor infrastructure and security provide opportunities for sexual offenders to commit such crimes.

Indonesia was ranked the third worst place among G20 countries for women to live, according to a survey released in 2013. Indonesia was ranked behind India and Saudi Arabia, which face similar challenges with problems such as child marriage, sex trafficking, violence and the exploitation of women.

Rape can happen virtually anywhere. Reports of sexual harassment of women who commute to and from work on public transportation occur virtually every other day.

At least three cases of rape and one of rape and murder in public minivans were reported in Greater Jakarta in the period 2011-2014. In November 2015, a young woman was raped and robbed while crossing a pedestrian bridge at Lebak Bulus, near the upscale Pondok Indah area in South Jakarta.

To the public’s outrage, police and then-Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo responded to a case in 2014 by advising women against traveling alone and wearing “revealing clothing” to avoid instigating men’s sexual desire and being raped.

Hera Diani, one of the founders of feminist web-based magazine Magdalene, says that despite the public concern over the Yuyun case, it did not go far enough.

“We might be better than India but we did not see the same level of public outrage that the Indian public expressed after the rape and murder of a medical student in the wake of Yuyun’s case, indicating that something is wrong,” she said.

“A female globetrotter even said that women’s safety level in Jakarta is even more worrying than in Mexico because there, the crimes are concentrated in certain areas. In Jakarta, the violence is widespread, it can happen everywhere.”

Brutal gang rape
Diani was referring to the brutal gang rape of a young Indian woman on a bus in New Delhi in late 2012. The victim was returning home from a movie and had boarded a bus with a male friend on the night of December 16, 2012 when four men, including the bus driver, beat them up and gang-raped her.

The victims were then thrown out of the bus and left to die.

The rape triggered a nationwide protest in the country, known to have an endemic sexual violence problem. A week after the incident, Indian lawmakers passed stricter laws on sexual violence, including a minimum 20-year prison sentence for rape and the death penalty for extreme cases.

Indian lawmakers also expanded the definition of rape to include penetration by objects or any body part. Sexual abuse in all its forms including sexual harassment, stalking and voyeurism was also made illegal. Moreover, fast-track courts were established to speed up trials in sexual assault cases which earlier took years to conclude.

Government response
Women’s rights activists agree that sexual assault and rape are more about domination than a mere sexual impulse. A study on the cause of rape in Asia-Pacific by the UN Development Fund for Women (Unifem) in 2013 found that 73 percent of 13,000 sexual offenders surveyed said sexual entitlement, the belief that men have a right to sex with women regardless of consent, was the main motivation for rape.

The remainder said they committed rape for entertainment, while alcohol, often assumed to be a common trigger for violence, was the least common response. Men who had themselves been victimised – abused, raped or otherwise sexually coerced – were more likely to commit rape than those who were not, the study also found.

The Indonesian government’s refusal to acknowledge the rape culture is reflected in the narrow definition of sexual assault in the Criminal Code (KUHP). The regulation centers on physical abuse and says less about psychological and economic violence.

It left marital rape unaddressed until the ratification of the Domestic Violence Law in 2004.

Despite the narrow definition, the government actually has no shortage of laws criminalising sexual offenders. Apart from the KUHP, it has ratified international conventions on protection of women and children as well as on the handling of human trafficking crimes and the prevention of child marriage, for example.

Approach of law enforcers
Indonesia’s rape culture is demonstrated in problematic law enforcement, which perpetuates the view that the crime occurs because the victim invited it. Gender-biased police officers often make impolite remarks to victims and judges ask irrelevant questions during trials.

Lenient sentences are only one element that sustains the violence and discrimination against women, seen as the second gender.

A victim of sexual assault committed by four officers of the TransJakarta bus services in January 2014 was questioned by the judge about the length of her pants on the day of the incident. She was not offered any legal assistance and was obliged to pay for a medical examination.

The offenders were jailed for only 18 months.

A report in The Jakarta Post in August 2014 made it clear that women aren’t safe in even everyday environments. In a commentary on the Transjakarta case, the country’s patriarchal society was identified as the root of the problem, hindering victims of sexual assaults from obtaining justice.

Members of the legal system often lacked sensitivity, it quoted activists as stating.

Founder of the rape-survivor support group Lentera Indonesia, Wulan Danoekoesoemo, said many rape victims chose not to report their cases to the police because the law itself did not side with the victim.

“Some victims feel hopeless because it’s difficult to process a sexual-assault case. Even if the cases are processed, the sentences for the offenders are too short,” she said.

Deep trauma
Meanwhile the victim suffered deep trauma.

Blaming the woman for “inviting” an assault is not uncommon. Activist Kartika Jahja said in The Jakarta Post report that it is not unusual for judges and defendants’ lawyers to question a victim’s clothes and ethnicity.

Women’s Legal Aid Foundation (LBH APIK) executive Uli Pangaribuan agreed that such stigmatizing was why many rape victims chose to keep quiet.

“The reason why many rape victims in this country choose not to report to the police is because they’re ashamed and they’re afraid that society will put the blame on them,” Pangaribuan said, according to the Post.

People tended to normalise rape if the victim was wearing a mini-skirt or a tight blouse.

Who’s to blame?
Meanwhile, some were inquiring why Yuyun, the 14-year-old rape victim in Bangkulu, was wandering near a desolate plantation by herself, prompting the opinion that she herself might have triggered the crime.

Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise entered the blame game by criticising the girl’s parents for working and not being available for their children.

The comment from the minister demonstrates that the patriarchal view that women’s place is in the home is shared by many women, despite the reality that women often have to work to help the family survive economically. It also assumes that women do not have a right to a career.

It is obvious that more needs to be done to change the perspective and approach that sides more with the accused during legal proceedings. Heavier sanctions such as chemical castration in the new Perppu will not necessarily be effective in preventing more violence.

Diani of Magdalene said she was cooperating with Komnas Perempuan to capitalise on the current momentum to raise public awareness on the danger of rape culture and improve protection for women and children.

Activists, she said, have pushed the House of Representatives to include the deliberation of the anti-sexual violence bill into its priority program for this year but the process of deliberation is yet to start.

“We are looking for better access to legal and psychological assistance for victims of sexual abuse as well as building law enforcement forces with improved gender awareness,” Diani said.

The tougher sanctions introduced in the new Perppu must not be the end of efforts to stopping violence against women and children, Diani said.

Integrated solutions
There’s no single approach to ending the violence. Measures in the legal process must be supported by a concerted effort to build public awareness to reverse the discriminative mindset, which must include improvement of welfare and national education systems.

“Inclusion of sexual education that introduces the correct concepts on good sexual and reproductive health into school curriculums is necessary to complete the push for stronger law enforcement,” said Diani.

She admitted, however, that advocating for proper sexual education for students would most likely face rejection from certain members of the public, who have grown more religiously conservative and xenophobic despite Indonesia being hailed as one of the most open, democratic societies in the world.

“The public most likely would highlight that advocating sexual education means promoting free sex, which they say is against Islamic teaching and so-called Asian values,” Diani said.

The media, she added, must also play a role in the reform process by adhering to the code of ethics of journalism instead of publishing sensational headlines when reporting cases of sexual assault.

In reporting recent cases of sexual violence, a lot of local newsrooms have projected a clear picture of gender bias in reporting, with the publication of gory details and uncensored pictures of the victims.

Lack of women police
A shortage of women police officers is a part of the problem of the failure of police to properly investigate sexual assaults. The police themselves adopt patriarchal values by applying a “virginity test” for new recruits.

A storm over the practice emerged in 2014, when Nisha Varia, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch, stated that the practice was discriminatory and harmed and humiliated women.

While police insist that the practice is no longer used, sources within the force cited by HRW and other rights organisations insist that it is continuing.

HRW said in November 2014 that the National Police planned an immediate 50 percent increase in the number of policewomen, to 21,000. With a force of about 400,000 police officers, the additional hiring would increase the percentage of women on the force from 3 percent to 5 percent.

It is not clear that the hiring campaign was successful, but even at 5 percent women officers would be spread very thinly through the force. Many police stations would not have female officers, further deterring women from reporting crimes.

A May 2015 report in Time magazine on the virginity test issue quoted the head of the national police legal division, Inspector-General Moechgiyarto, as supporting the tests because they maintained the police force’s moral standards.

“If she (a candidate) turns out to be a prostitute, how could we accept her for the job?” he said.

Unhealthy atmosphere
This approach clearly creates an unhealthy atmosphere for female police recruits, and in general creates difficulty for the victims of sexual assault to have their cases dealt with effectively.

In an article in Australian website The Conversation, Irawati Harsono, a lecturer in criminology at the Police Studies College, said she was appalled when she was told that all women police had been removed from the border with East Timor following the referendum and rebellion against Indonesian rule in 1999.

“The presence of female police officers is crucial in ensuring women and children refugees are protected and that their needs are met. In refugee camps, women and children usually lose out in the fighting over resources such as water and blankets.

“They are also vulnerable to sexual abuse. The decision to withdraw female officers says a lot about how the police organisation regards female officers,” she stated. And generally, she added, “policewomen are considered mere auxiliaries to policemen.”

Calling for empowerment of women police, Harsono stated that while there had been improvement in legislation to protect women and children, this had made very little difference.

“The way a country regards female police officers is crucial in its efforts to protect women against violence in the general population,” she said.

“Since 2007, each police district has established a special women and children protection unit. The attorney general has a focal point for women’s issues. The Supreme Court also has a working group. But despite such legal and structural progress, if the culture within the police corps still discriminates against women, effective protection for women’s rights will fall short.”

Economic impacts
The economic cost, in addition to the physical, psychological and health impacts, is often forgotten in the case of sexual violence. Advancing gender equality and eliminating the endemic violence are therefore becoming more important as Widodo’s government vows to build a sustainable economy and achieve 7 percent growth by the end of its tenure in 2019.

The World Bank in November 2015 estimated that aside from psychological repercussions, gender-based violence has been shown to have dire economic consequences, costing an estimated 3.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) due to lost productivity. The percentage is more than double what most governments spend on education.

“The negative stigmas attached to survivors of sexual violence might make them lose their jobs,” Diani said, agreeing that productivity losses due to sexual abuse might be larger and extended to the next generation as impoverished victims might raise vulnerable families and kids.

In the National Mid-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) for 2015-2019, the government pledges to enhance protection of women and children. It aims to improve prevention of violence through the launching of the National Children Protection Movement, awareness campaigns and the implementation of restorative justice for child convicts.

The measures also include efforts to improve services for victims of violence, which seek better handling of reports, health and social rehabilitation and reintegration, as well as stronger law enforcement with provision of legal assistance.

The RPJMN also outlines plans to upgrade the capacity of agencies working on women and children’s protection through a better legal system, inter-agency coordination and the establishment of an information system related to the crime.

The plan of action, included in the five-year economic development roadmap, signals that the government is aware of the importance of promoting women and children’s protection. The move indicates that the state is heading in the right direction in providing protection for all its citizens, but evidence remains scant that any of these policies have been implemented.

The government needs to encourage society to move toward a culture of preventing the perpetration of rape through a persuasive campaign at all levels, rather than relying on prevention through knee-jerk responses. While the government’s Perrpu looks tough, there is no indication at this stage that it will make women any safer.

The stigma does not end with themselves, but also extends to their children and grandchildren. The number of the people affected by the 1965 tragedy, whether murdered, tortured, raped or detained without trial, could reach into the hundreds of thousands.

“I hope the government will rehabilitate all survivors and annul all discriminative laws against the 1965 victims,” said Kusnendar, an 83-year-old survivor, during a two-day symposium on 1965 in Jakarta this week.

He also expressed his concern that there were still state documents that discriminated against them. Presidential Decree No. 28/1975, for example, prevents members or sympathisers of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) who worked as civil servants from receiving their pensions.

Meanwhile, Presidential Decree No. 16/1990 prevents former PKI members from working as civil servants or joining the Indonesian Military.

The kidnapping and murder of six Army generals on Sept. 30, 1965, led to a purge of communists and alleged communist sympathisers by the military under the leadership of Soeharto.

In the purge, countless thousands were murdered, tortured and arrested without trial. It is estimated that between 500,000 to 1 million people were killed during the “cleansing” of people with any leftist connections, regardless of their age or level of connection.

Generals murder
“I was beaten up when I arrived at the Budi Kemuliaan penitentiary as I was accused of being involved in the murder of the generals,” said Kusnendar, adding that he was arrested on October 10, 1965, in Jakarta, because he was involved in a labor union allegedly affiliated with the PKI.

He was also accused of harboring sympathies with the PKI’s youth arm, Pemuda Rakyat. Kusnendar moved from one prison to another, including the Cipinang and Salemba penitentiaries in Jakarta, the Nusakambangan prison island in Central Java and Buru Island in Maluku, often remembered as the “Island of Exiles”, in 1969.

Yohanes Winaryo, a 72-year-old survivor, was arrested on Nov. 2, 1965, because of his involvement in the Indonesian Youth and Students Association (IPPI), allegedly affiliated with the PKI.

“We had no affiliation with the PKI as the IPPI just held study-group sessions or sporting events. We even helped the government eradicate illiteracy going door-to-door to the people’s houses,” he said.

However, Yohanes was forced to work without pay as a stonemason in Central Java until he was released in 1970. Since then, he has been “marked” as a former political prisoner.

“Our main demand is rehabilitation. The government should bring back our good name in society. It’s more important than compensation,” he said.

Because of the stigma attached to them, the 1965 victims had to live hard life. Kusnendar was released in 1978 and reunited with his family in Jakarta.

However, he said his wife was forced to divorce him as a prerequisite to working in the Jakarta Education Agency because of his status as a former political prisoner.

Kusnendar earned a living working as an insurance salesman, a scavenger and a thesis typist in a printing shop.

High school teacher brings alternative narratives to 1965 purge

Niine Fiji police officers charged in relation to the death of Vilikesa Soko after he had been in  custody in 2014 have been suspended on full pay as of yesterday.

The decision was made by the Acting Police Commissioner Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho and announced today after criticism from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Director Christopher Pryde made a statement on Friday saying it was unacceptable to have suspects in a criminal case working within the police force.

Brigadier Qiliho has since met Pryde and explained the reasons for his decision.

Qiliho said the accused were witnesses in cases before the court.

They were also part of a Fiji taskforce that had been instrumental in combating violent crimes such as home invasions and had foiled numerous cases of attempted robberies.

The men would remain suspended until all legal proceedings had been completed.

—

Up to 35 abused women go to the Boroko Family and Sexual Violence Unit a day in Papua New Guinea’s capital Port Moresby and 90 percent of them report being raped.

This would amount to 11,479 forceful sexual penetration cases processed by the unit, on a yearly average, says Senior Constable Juliana Epe, the officer in charge.

Senior Constable Epe reported that since 2009 the intake of victimised women at her unit had staggered – and the spectrum of cases included the upper echelon of society, such as female politicians.

“We take in between 20 and 35 women a day – I have dealt with women who are managers, departmental heads, secretaries and even female ministers,” she said.

“These women survivors show up with reports of being physically assaulted, bashed up, forcefully raped – others are traumatised with scars, deep wounds on their bodies inflicted by objects and bruises on their faces,” Senior Constable Epe said.

Girls barely out of their teenage years and women old enough to retire from work had become prey to perpetrators of violence-related crimes, according to Senior Constable Epe.

“Females between the ages of 15 – 55 are what we receive, but we regularly receive women between the ages of 30 – 42 who are either single mothers or housewives and we listen carefully to their reports and establish how they would like us to assist,” she said.

Partners charged
“Most of them do want their partners charged and arrested so we assist them to acquire a protection order through the PNG Developing Lawyers Association (PNGDLA),” Senior Constable Epe said.

The number of incest cases that involved male relatives sexually penetrating their daughters or nieces had also seen a rise.

But the inability of the young victims to step forward and give evidence had proven to be a barrier that prohibited “the wheels of justice from turning”.

“Most of the cases involving children are sexual touching and sexual penetration and they are too shy to come out because the perpetrators are known to them – it could either be their father or uncle or cousin brothers,” she said.

“We send the serious cases to CID or the Sexual Offences Squad and they deal with it.

“These cases are futile if the young victim is unwilling to confirm the report and the perpetrator because who will appear in court? It’s a waste of time because it will be thrown out of court,” Senior Constable Epe explained.

She said the dangerous trend of violence-related crimes inflicted on women was increasing every year and she encouraged society to stand up against it.

“The victimised women and their families must step forward and give information as the inability to do this leads to suicides and other social problems, while the perpetrators walk free,” Senior Constable said.