The appeal of a Bunun Aborigine against convictions for poaching and illegal possession of firearms began at the Supreme Court in Taipei yesterday, with supporters and advocacy groups holding a rally outside the building to demand respect for the culture and customs of the nation’s Aboriginal communities.
Despite suffering from pneumonia, the defendant, Tama Talum, also known by his Chinese name Wang Guang-lu (王光祿), attended the hearing, traveling from his home village in a mountainous region of Taitung County.
Prosecutor-General Yen Ta-ho (顏大和) filed an extraordinary appeal on Talum’s behalf in December last year after the Taiwan High Court’s Hualien branch upheld the guilty verdict of a lower court, which sentenced the 57-year-old to three-and-a-half years in prison.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Talum was found to have violated the Act Controlling Guns, Knives and Ammunition (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) and the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法).
Talum and his lawyers had argued that he was entitled to hunt and practice traditional Bunun culture under the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民基本法).
The case has fueled heated debate over the rights of Aborigines, and preservation of their culture.
However, some environmentalists and wildlife conservation groups have demanded a clampdown on poaching and illegal firearms to stop the killing of protected animals.
“This case must be appealed because it is not just about me, it concerns the traditional culture of my people. Hunting is a customary practice for Aboriginal communities. When the Supreme Court makes its judgement, I hope they take this into account,” Talum said before the hearing, standing alongside supporters and Aboriginal rights advocates. “As a man from a Bunun village, if I did not own a hunting rifle, I would be laughed at by my people. I hope the authorities can return our Aboriginal traditions and culture to us.”
Talum was arrested in August 2013 in possession of two dead animals, a Formosan serow and a Reeves’ muntjac, and a modified rifle.
At his trial, Talum said that he had killed the animals to provide meat for his 94-year-old mother, who was ill at home and wanted to eat the meat as a treat.
His lawyers had requested that the court transfer the trial to Talum’s village, so that the judges and judicial officials could better understand the living conditions and cultural practices of his community, adding that the Bunun people would like to better understand, and participate in, the judicial process.
At yesterday’s hearing, presiding judge Hsu Chin-yin (許錦印) requested that Yen be present at the next session, saying it is within the prosecutor-general’s authority to file an extraordinary appeal.
However, later in the afternoon Yen said it was unnecessary for him to attend, as there was no precedent, and he could be represented by the prosecutor of the case.
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