Nirmala Maulana Achmad, Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) has highlighted cases of human rights violations that have followed the same pattern in 2022 as in previous years.
YLBHI Chairperson Muhammad Isnur said that the same model was used by the government when was attempting to steal community land.
This was reflected in cases such as the mining or land conflict in Wadas, Central Java, Parigi in Moutong, Central Sulawesi, or in Kalasey, North Sulawesi.
"The term rule of law was even used to legitimise violence. Instead of the security forces refraining from committing violence, they were in fact used to commit violence", said Isnur during a virtual event titled A Kaleidoscope of Human Rights Violations in 2022 on Tuesday December 27.
In the cases referred to, said Isnur, communities' living space was threatened on the pretext of development and investment.
"All of it used the same pattern, so communities' living spaces were threatened by development and investment, then the position taken by security personnel or law enforces, was that they provided backing, becoming the tools for repression", said Isnur.
Isnur gave the example of the Wadas land dispute where the police were even more repressive than in previous years.
"No change took place in 2022. We did not find any scheme or model of handling [disputes] that was based on the restoration of victims' rights", said Isnur.
"The victims' rights, such as when Wadas was attacked in 2022, it was a repeat of 2021 right. So it was not a restoration, providing rights that should have occurred, it even continued and extended the violations", he said.
Isnur said that Wadas residents suffered violence in 2021 and in the following year, police even forced they way into residents' homes.
"The police even forced they way into homes, forcibly arrested residents, cut of the electricity, internet. We saw there was a pattern of increasing violence, increasing violations or intensity of incidents, that's what was clear, yes. It was even repeated and increased", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "YLBHI Sebut Pelanggaran HAM 2022 Gunakan Pola Sama, Aparat Jadi Alat Represi".]
