Larius Kogoya – According to the chairperson of the Malind and Condodigun Indigenous Peoples Forum in Merauke, Simon Petrus Balagagaze, the atmosphere of terror and intimidation began to be felt after August 27.
Balagagaze visited communities in several villages to ascertain whether the company had conducted socialisation in the villages where they took samples of earth from land that will be used for the State Strategic Projects (PSN). Balagagaze explained that they held a meeting in the Ilwayab district that was attended by several clans and traditional leaders. During the meeting they all agreed to reject the PSN.
"So I visited several villages in Okaba district, Tubang district and Ilwayab district at locations where the PSN will operate, namely Wanam Village and Wogikel Village. All the people claimed there was no socialisation at all. The communities were shocked by the presence of the company that suddenly turned up, so at the meeting we all agreed to reject the PSN", Balagagaze told Jubi when contacted by phone from Sentani, Jayapura regency, Papua, on Wednesday October 30.
Balagagaze said they held another meeting and invited all the indigenous community leaders, communal land rights owners, tribes and sub-tribes in South Papua, from the Awyu, Mandobo, Muyu, Mappi and Asmat tribes, to sit down and talk about the PSN. Given all the considerations and risks, according to Balagagaze, they all agreed to reject the PSN.
"Friends from the Awyu tribe had experienced this kind of things before, in their area, where their forests were totally clear-felled so they strongly support us together in rejecting the PSN which will operate two million hectares", he said.
A few days after the meeting, Balagagaze went to Okaba. There he received information that he was being sought by six people suspected of being members of the TNI (Indonesian Military). They had been asking people around in the Ilwayab district about his whereabouts.
"At that time I was phoned by a bapak [adult or elderly man] and he told me 'child there were TNI who were looking for you here', so then I said, 'Why are they looking for me, I live in my village, on my land, my place of birth, why do they need to look for me for?', that's how I responded to the bapak", he said, recounting his conversation with the villager.
"If I had been there when the six TNI members came, perhaps I would have been persecuted or arrested. And for me this is a psychological terror to frighten those of us who reject the presence of the PSN", he said.
This did not however stop Balagagaze. He met with mama-mama (traditional Papuan women traders) from several districts that were uneasy with the presence of the company PT. Jhonlin Group which is working on a PSN by cutting down large areas of forest without first meeting with or getting permission from indigenous communities.
“The communities in Ilwayab district, Okaba district, Tubang district, Nguti district and Jagebob district all reject [the PSN]. In fact, I met the mama-mama and communities there and they all reject the PSN because they feel the company is threatening indigenous peoples' survival", he said.
In relation to the growing atmosphere of terror against indigenous community members, Merauke Archdiocese Justice and Peace Commission member Father Pius Cornelis Manu Pr also revealed the existence of people allegedly playing an intelligence role in monitoring meetings and discussions with indigenous peoples related to the PSN at Merauke Beach Payum Village.
"So we couldn't speak freely, even though we talked in the sense of expressing our opinions or complaints related to our land that is being flattened and cleared, intel is still always present. The presence of intel stops people's lives from being free. So if we just want to talk about our rights, about the steps we need to take to respond to this PSN, how come we're constantly being spied on", said Manu.
According to Manu, being monitored by intelligence officers is reasonable when indigenous peoples hold a demonstration at the House of Representatives (DPR) or at the regent's office, or at the Papua People's Council (MRP) offices. "But for me what's not normal is when indigenous communities gather and there's intel there, what's going on? I think that's very excessive", he said.
Threatened by the military
Ariston Moyuwend, a resident of Wanam Village in Ilwayab district, said that his nephew suffered intimidation allegedly carried out by TNI soldiers in the Ongabung Hamlet in Wanam Village.
According to Moyuwend, the intimidation occurred when his nephew asked the company not to enter the sacred area of the Malind indigenous peoples. Earlier his nephew heard the sound of excavators so he went to their customary area to see what the excavators were doing. When the excavator operator saw the boy, he was shocked and shouted. Then five people arrived who are suspected of being armed TNI soldiers who approached and threatened him.
"So he was threatened there, if you obstruct the work, we'll shoot you and smash your head, like that. Because my nephew was blocking the way so the excavator couldn't breach the sacred area. So he said that if you want to shoot me, go ahead and shoot, I'll die in my area and my village", Moyuwend told Jubi by phone on Thursday October 31 while recounting his nephew's words.
Moyuwend said that the five people suspected of being TNI members then asked where he lived, then they went together to his village and met with his family. Moyuwend's nephew even showed them his parents and introduced them to people.
One of the family members, continued Moyuwend, explained to the five people suspected of being the TNI members that the excavator activity was on a sacred forest and it is not allowed to be cleared. "So the bapak [the family member] directed them to clear a different place, but the [TNI] members didn't believe him and wanted to continue with the clearing", Moyuwend said.
The family even explained to the five that their father had disappeared in the sacred forest and his body has still not been found. According to Moyuwend, in order to establish the truth of the family's story, they then contacted their commander.
"And their commander said that it was true that the place was a sacred forest and their father had disappeared and to this day the body had not been found. In the end they didn't clear the sacred forest and moved the clearing in a different direction", said Moyuwend.
Moyuwend added that it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to find food. They often experience terror both directly or indirectly when security forces ask about their activities.
"[When] we're looking for food, you're always asked who are you? We're the owners of this area, this land, how come we always get questioned. Even looking for food in the wetlands, the forests, the gardens, we're given a time limit, in so many hours you've got to come back, don’t take too long, and so on. The community feels confused, that, before the PSN came we were free, but from where do you set these rules, indeed, are we troublesome people that have to be given a time limit, this is our area", he said.
Moyuwend also recounted the experience of another community in Wania Village who were threatened because they reprimanded the activities of people suspected of being TNI members who took water from their well. Residents objected because there was not much water in the well.
"A bapak reprimanded them, you've taken the forest land and now you want to take the water in the well" Moyuwend said imitating the residents' resentment.
"Then a TNI member did not accept the uncle's scolding, he went and reported it to his friends and then many soldiers arrived in a big truck at the place where the bapak lived, they came and threatened and almost wanted to beat him, but because there was a village Babinsa [a non-commissioned military officer posted in villages and wards], as well as the son of a regional figure from Wanam, Oskar Balagagaze, so they brought the situation under control. If there had been no Babinsa, it is likely that the bapak would have been beaten up", he said.
According to Moyuwend, he is has also obtained information from the village that CCTV cameras have been installed along the outskirts of the forest land being cleared so that people cannot enter or approach.
Father Manu is also worried about the atmosphere with the presence of armed TNI officers in the area where forest is being cleared for the PSN.
"This is social terror, it's no joke. Because the company is backed up by the power of the armed forces, as if it's a war zone. This doesn't make sense, how is it that the company's agricultural activities are being carried out by all soldiers. What's going on? Really, are there no farmers in Indonesia?", said Manu.
According to Manu, the problem also lies in the absence of any socialisation from village to village, district to district informing communities that, for example, the presence of the company operating PSN will be assisted by the armed forces, the TNI.
"So it's natural that people feel scared, depressed and feel terrorised psychologically. The thing is they've heard it’s a state program, yes, that's true, but the problem is if it's a state program, how can the local government doesn't know [about it], the MPR, the DPR don’t' know, never mind the community", he said.
Protest action
According to Balagagaze, protests by the community opposing the PSN culminated on September 24.
At that time there was a visit by the acting governor of South Papua province, together with the commanders of the Animti Waninggap 174 and Merauke 1707 Sub-Regional Military Commands (Korem), the Merauke district police chief (Kapolres) and the sub-district military commander and the chairperson of the South Papua Special Autonomy Development Acceleration Steering Agency (BP3OKP). The community held a demonstration to greet the arrival of the acting governor's entourage.
Indigenous people and mama-mama all wore traditional clothing and applied white mud on their faces and bodies as part of the traditional procession.
"They hung messages around their necks on rectangular pieces of cardboard that read 'We Rejected the Jhonlin Group company and the PSN' while performing a traditional dance, namely the Gasi dance while welcoming the arrival of the acting governor and his group. And at that time the community unanimously conveyed their opposition to the acting governor's group", said Balagagaze.
It was after this, according to Balagagaze, that the terror began. For example, there were TNI members who came to their village asking why the community held a traditional procession during the action on September 24. "Who told you to wear white mud? Who told you to write reject the company, who was it? And so on", said Balagagaze.
"Then the community replied that no one told us, all of people who protested reject the company, it was born from their own awareness that their land and forests are being stolen so ... they came in without permission and cleared the land like thieves", said Balagagaze recounting the community's response.
Previously on October 15, the commander of the 1707 Merauke District Military Command (Kodim), Infantry Lieutenant General Jhony Nofriady SE M Han, denied that any soldiers went looking for residents who protested the PSN. He told Jubi that the TNI soldiers did not intimidate any residents.
Nofriady said that the presence of TNI soldiers is to support food security for the welfare of the community and that TNI soldiers would not commit violence against the community.
"The TNI is there to support the national program and to improve the welfare of the community there. The busier an area is, the more the wheels of the economy turn. We [the TNI too] give vegetable seeds [to the community], and the produce will be bought by us later", he said.
Meanwhile on Wednesday October 16, the head of the TNI Headquarters Information Centre in Jakarta, Major General Haryanto, said that if indeed there were TNI soldiers who committed violence against local people then they would be legally prosecuted. He stated that the field commander of the TNI soldiers would also be held responsible if their subordinates were proven to have committed violence against residents.
"If it is indeed true that there is violence committed by TNI personnel in the field, the ranking field commander will be held responsible. But we should not be provoked by irresponsible people who spread fake news for personal gain, deliberately damaging progress and peace in the land of Papua. We must be more observant in looking at it, and enquire directly with more proficient sources", Haryanto told Jubi in a WhatsApp message
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Marak protes terhadap PSN Food Estate di Merauke, masyarakat adat mendapat teror dan ancaman".]
