Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia is asking Tangerang Municipal Police (Polresta) investigators not to pursues a report against government critic and former State-Owned Enterprises Ministry (BUMN) secretary Said Didu for criticising the Pantai Indah Kapuk 2 (PIK) National Strategic Project (PSN).
Amnesty International Executive Director Usman Hamid believes that the police report against Didu by the Indonesian Association of Villages (Apdesi) is a form of criminalisation through the Information and Electronic Transition (ITE) Law. He also sees the report as being a rash and unnecessary act.
"It's better that the police not continue with the legal process against Said Didu", Hamid said in a written statement on Tuesday November 19.
Hamid stressed that there was nothing wrong with Said Didu's criticism about the land acquisition from residents which was allegedly without consultation or a fair resolution. He emphasised that Didu has the right to criticise and that this is protected by the Constitution.
He said the move taken by Apdesi to report Didu to the police in fact indicates that the regional government did not have a commitment to the community. In addition, Apdesi was also considered not to have been open about the management of large projects such as PIK 2, which has been included as a PSN.
"Rather than criminalising criticism, it's better for the authorities to investigate the substance of the criticism. Is it true that there has been a violation of citizen's rights to the land", said Hamid.
"Or development procedures that ignore meaningful consultation. National strategic projects must not be used as a reason to override social justice and political freedom", he added.
Didu was reported to the Tangerang municipal police after he criticised the PIK 2. Didu fulfilled the police summons today.
Based on a written statement by Didu's legal team, the report was made by a person named Mascota, who is cited as the chairperson of the Tangerang regency Apdesi as well as the head of the Belimbing Village in Kosambi sub-district, Tangerang.
Dido was reported in relation to Article 28 Paragraph (2) and Article 28 Paragraph (3) of the ITE Law, as well as Article 310 and Article 311 of the Criminal Code (KUHP). (tfq/tsa)
Notes
The Pantai Indah Kapuk 2 project in North Jakarta, which known as a "tropical coastland" spanning 1,755 hectares and intended as an eco-city and green tourism destination, has attracted controversy over the destruction of coastal mangrove areas and the eviction of local fisher people and urban poor. It also set to benefit from the government's recent controversial decision to restart sea sand mining for national reclamation projects and export. Despite being developed by public listed property companies and funded by private investors, earlier this year the government designated it as a national strategic project.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Amnesty Minta Polisi Tak Proses Laporan Apdesi soal Kritik Said Didu".]
