The National Commission on Human Rights
(Komnas HAM) says that no beheadings occurred in Sodong village, Mesuji
district in South Sumatra, during alleged
conflicts involving local residents and a palm oil company.
Commission deputy chief Ridha Saleh said
Friday that the two people who died during the April 21 clash, Saetu and his
nephew, Indra, had been shot.
Earlier, several video recordings depicting
people being brutally beheaded and mutilated had been widely spread over electronic
media. The videos were reported to have been taken around the village.
“Some local residents said that there were
no beheadings,” Ridha said in his office.
On April 21, Saetu and Indra left home to
buy pesticide at around 10 a.m. traveling by motorcycle past a crude palm oil plantation
belonging to PT Sumber Wangi Alam (SWA).
At 1 p.m., a villager told their family
members that Indra had been found dead. Family members found a wound on Indra’s
neck and three holes, allegedly from bullets, on his chest and waist.
Villagers also found the dying Saetu not
far from where they found Indra’s body. Saetu died on the way to a public
health center.
According to Ridha, Saetu was found on PT
SWA’s land.
Villagers, however, still have no idea what
triggered their deaths, as both had not involved themselves in any conflicts with
the company.
According to the local authorities, about
an hour after villagers had found Indra and Saetu, they staged protests and
vandalized the company’s base camp, prompting a clash between the two parties.
Five company security officers reportedly died during the incident.
“The villagers denied that they had
vandalized the company’s assets and said that they had only staged a
demonstration,” Ridha said.
He also urged the government to reveal the
names of people who had been questioned regarding the incident. (swd)
