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Residents flee as company asks police to make arrests

Initially, it was a land dispute between residents of Olak-olak village in Kubu Raya regency, West Kalimantan, and oil palm plantation company PT Sintang Raya, which holds a concession nearby

Severianus Endi (The Jakarta Post)
Pontianak
Mon, August 8, 2016

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Residents flee as company asks police to make arrests

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nitially, it was a land dispute between residents of Olak-olak village in Kubu Raya regency, West Kalimantan, and oil palm plantation company PT Sintang Raya, which holds a concession nearby.

Then, the company accused several residents of stealing oil palm fruit and allegedly paid police to secure the area and make arrests.

The company’s harsh measures frightened locals, many of whom took shelter at the local office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

At least 47 residents, including children, have been sleeping at the Komnas HAM office since Thursday night, seeking protection.

The residents first visited the Komnas HAM office on Monday to report their dispute with PT Sintang Raya. They said a number of police personnel had patrolled their village, reportedly forcefully arresting four locals.

The residents reportedly heard that 74 people from the village were on the police’s wanted list.

As a result of the police’s actions, almost 300 residents of the village and several other nearby villages left their homes and took shelter in Pontianak and other places.

“We set up a monitoring team to investigate if there has been a human rights violation by the police,” West Kalimantan’s Komnas HAM chairman Kasful Anwar said.

He said a team from the commission’s national office in Jakarta would arrive within a few days. In the meantime, his office would coordinate with related agencies and the provincial administration to ensure residents had adequate food.

West Kalimantan Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Suhadi SW said the arrests were justified as the police apprehended people who allegedly stole fruit from oil palms belonging to PT Sintang Raya.

“All the suspects have been given summons letters. As they did not show up, forced arrests were made according to procedure,” he said.

Moreover, he suspected an NGO had provoked the residents to defend their rights through legal procedures.

Previously, the villagers, with the help of an advocacy group, filed a lawsuit against PT Sintang Raya to return plots of land to them. Suhadi said the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the residents, ordering the plantation company to release 5 hectares of land.

“The company was not obliged to release the whole of its concession area of 11 hectares. A non-government organization has campaigned as if the company must release the whole concession to the people,” Suhadi said, without naming the organization.

In addition, Olak-olak administration’s social affairs section head Sunarno said the villagers were divided into two groups: those against and those for the presence of the company in the region.

“Those who are against were afraid because there had been rumors that the police would pick up a number of residents targeted for arrest,” Sunarno said.

Separately, Harlen Sitorus of the company’s legal division denied accusations that the arrest of some residents was an attempt by PT Sintang Raya to criminalize people. He said the police followed up on the company’s report about the theft of oil palm fruit in its concession area on July 9, 10 and 17.

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