Govt forms special team to investigate Mesuji killings

The Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs held a meeting on Friday morning to discuss its plan to form a special team to investigate the mass killing in Mesuji, East Lampung.

The meeting was chaired by Coordinating Minister Djoko Suyanto and attended by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Law and Human Rights Deputy Minister Denny Indrayana, National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) chairman Ifdhal Kasim and a National Police representative.

“We agreed to form a joint fact-finding team and we have installed Denny Indrayana as the team leader,” Ifdhal told The Jakarta Post on Friday over the phone.

He said that the team would be made up of representatives from the Law and Human Rights Ministry, the Forestry Ministry, the National Police, South Sumatra and Lampung governors and Komnas HAM, but the names of each representative had not yet been determined.

“We will determine the names and announce them tomorrow [Saturday],” Ifdhal told the Post.

He said that the team would conduct a fact-finding exercise related to the mass killings in Lampung and South Sumatra.

Thirty people have allegedly been killed since violence erupted when Malaysian-based company, PT Silva Inhutani, allegedly took the residents’ land in 2003 to plant rubber and palm oil.

“We will seek the root of the case and we will come up with a solution,” Ifdhal said, adding that the team would also seek immediate measures to overcome the difficulties faced by the victims.

He added that the team would also be ready to accept complaints from the public and would immediately visit the scene to meet the people. (drs)