TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Komnas HAM finds indications of rights violations in Rempang
A preliminary investigation by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has found indications of possible rights violations occurring in the handling of the recent string of riots and forced eviction of locals living in Rempang – an island that is part of Batam, Riau Islands province.
Change Size
Riot police stand by on Sept. 11, 2023, during a demonstration by Rempang Island residents at the Batam Free Trade Zone Authority (BP Batam) in Batam, Riau Islands. The residents oppose the local administration's plan to relocate them to another part of the island for the construction of the Rempang Eco-City. (Antara/Teguh Priatna)
A
preliminary investigation by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has found indications of possible rights violations in the handling of the recent string of riots and forced evictions of locals in Rempang island, part of Batam, Riau Islands province.
Tensions have been mounting over the past few weeks between residents and government authorities over a plan to turn the 17,000-hectare Rempang island into a new special economic zone, which includes the eviction of locals from their ancestral homes.
The Rempang Eco-City project will house glass and solar panel manufacturing facilities. The plan is spearheaded by PT Makmur Elok Graha, which has partnered with China’s Xinyi Group, receiving US$11.5 billion in investment, which was secured by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during his visit to Beijing in July.
Protests against the planned eco-city turned violent when residents clashed with members of the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) at the Batam, Rempang and Galang (Barelang) Bridge on Sept. 7 and the office of the Batam Development Authority (BP Batam) on Sept. 11.
To this end, Komnas HAM commissioner Uli Parulian Sihombong told the press on Friday that there were several indications of rights violations in the handling of the riots and the eviction process of Rempang residents, such as through the excessive use of force by law enforcement officers. But the commission has not yet come up with a definitive conclusion as its investigation is still ongoing.
“There was an excessive use of force and the unmeasured use of tear gas that has resulted in several [people being injured]. There has been a violation of rights to feel safe and to be free from intimidation,” Uli was quoted as saying in a newsclip on Kompas.com.
Read also: Explainer: Rempang conflict reveals weak land ownership system in Indonesia
