T

he East Java Police have arrested Hariyono, the village head of Selok Awar-awar in Pasirian district, Lumajang regency for his allegedly significant role in the lynching of a local farmer. The farmer had organized a protest against invasive sand-mining in his village.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Suharsono told reporters on Thursday that the police suspected that Hariyono planned the assault on the local farmer, Samsul, also known as Salim Kancil, because of his role in organizing protests against mining activity.

'€œThe village head is suspected of being involved in the assault that led to [Samsul'€™s] death. The village head had ownership of the sand quarry [that was protested against],'€ he said.

Suharsono said that the sand quarry Hariyono operated was also illegal because the permit for the quarry had already expired.

So far, the police have named 23 suspects in total, including two underage suspects whose dossiers have already been submitted to the local prosecutor'€™s office. The Police said some of the suspects would be charged with murder or assault, but six of the suspects were suspected of being guilty of both.

'€œThere is still the possibility that there are more suspects and additional charges. We are still waiting for new developments from the investigation,'€ he said.

Samsul was hacked to death by a group of people in Selok Awar-awar early on Saturday. The murder sparked nationwide condemnation and a fierce demand that the authorities find those responsible for his death.

The same group also allegedly attacked 51-year-old Tosan, an assault which left him in a critical condition.

Doctors at a local hospital in Lumajang successfully performed surgery on Tosan'€™s stomach, and he is now currently in a stable condition.

Three days before the incident, the two victims, accompanied by dozens of fellow villagers, staged a rally to protest against the sand quarry at Watu Pecak Beach, also in Selok Awar-awar.

The protestors said that the mining operation damaged the environment and left holes on the beach 5 meters in diameter and a meter deep.

Meanwhile, Democratic Party lawmaker Didik Mukrianto, from House of Representatives'€™ Commission III overseeing legal affairs, said that members of the commission'€™s investigative team would travel to Lumajang on a fact-finding mission.

'€œWe don'€™t just want to find out the brains [behind the incident] and resolve the legal matter, but we also want to find the root cause of the problem so that similar incidents won'€™t occur again in the future,'€ he said on Thursday.

Didik said that the murder was the consequence of overlapping interests between miners and environmentalists.

He said the commission had also received several reports from civil society groups that needed to be verified.

'€œA couple of friends from national coalitions have given us their conclusion that Salim'€™s murder could have been prevented, but was not because of the lack of an adequate response from law enforcement agencies to anticipate such a problem,'€ Didik said.

Separately, Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said that the murder could have resulted from weak monitoring by the local administration.

'€œWell, whatever it was, it [the murder] happened in the area [of the village hall]. Therefore, I believe any kind of early detection mechanism did not work,'€ Tjahjo said on Thursday at the State Palace.

Tjahjo said that he would sanction any official from the local administration involved in the violence.

'€œOther than legal consequences, any village administration official involved in the case could also face additional administrative sanctions,'€ Tjahjo added.
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