F

ollowing an incident in Riau where officials from the Environment and Forestry Ministry were taken hostage and threatened with death while investigating a forest fire, the ministry has called on the National Police to provide protection for its investigators.

The ministry’s law enforcement director general, Rasio Ridho Sani, said protection from the police would be crucial for future investigations into the practice employed by companies of illegally clearing land by burning it. Rasio noted that this was the first time its law enforcement personnel had been met with such a serious kind of threat.

“In the past, we often faced resistance from companies, but they were mild, such as being told to wait for a long time, being shown the wrong direction and so on. This is the first time a company deployed a huge mob with threats and intimidation,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Late last week, ministry officials investigating the alleged involvement of PT Andika Permata Sawit Lestari (APSL) in a massive forest fire in the area were held hostage by individuals allegedly dispatched by the firm. The attack took place after the officials collected photographic evidence of an alleged forest clearance through burning.

The ministry’s law enforcement efforts in Riau, however, will continue to face challenges as it is thought by some that local police in the province play an active role in securing the interests of palm oil firms.

Allegations are rife that senior police officers in the area are in close contact with the executives of palm oil companies. Furthermore, the police are accused of orchestrating the decision to drop investigations into 15 companies allegedly responsible for illegally clearing land earlier this year.

A photo recently circulated on social media might indicate close ties between PT APSL and the police in Riau.

The photo shows a number of high-ranking police officers from Riau and the National Police posing together with PT APSL president director Anton Yan, who was named a suspect in 2015 in a case related to forest fires.

The photo was uploaded by one of the police officers, Pekanbaru Police chief Sr. Comr. Toni Hermawan, on his Path social media account.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said the meeting, which happened on the seventh floor of the Grand Central Pekanbaru Hotel, was accidental and none of the police officers knew the executives from PT APSL.

“In the photo, only one is a palm oil business player. And this palm oil company has nothing to do with the 15 companies that received the SP3 [termination of investigation],” Tito said.

Tito said that because PT APSL was not one of the 15 companies, the accidental meeting had nothing to do with the decision made by the Riau Police.

Separately, PT APSL has issued a statement denying its involvement in the hostage-taking incident, saying it had not directed the local farmers to take action against the ministry officials.

“What happened was not a hostage-taking situation but a spontaneous action [by the local farmers] because [they] felt a bit disrespected,” PT APSL spokesperson Novalina Sirait told the Post. “The investigators visited customary land and thus the local people felt a bit disrespected. That’s it,” she said. (win)