Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the following information. It comes from the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), East Java Province branch office, a national human rights organization. The information is related to a land dispute case with local residents of Sumberanyar village, Nguling sub-district, Pasuruan Regency, East Java Province. For many years, the residents have fought for their land. They have presented evidence with land documents, but the Navy continued on occupying their land. They intimidated and forced the residents to accept only a small amount of compensation for their land. The Police acted unfairly by summoning activists and the head of Sumberanyar Village because of their advocacy efforts on the right to land.
CASE NARRATIVE:
On February 5, 2018, approximately 20 residents of Sumberanyar Village, accompanied by lawyers from KontraS branch office of East Java Province came to Pasuruan City Police Station, (Polresta Pasuruan). They needed to clarify summon letters previously sent to two members of the Farmers Communication Forum of Sumberanyar (FKTS) and to the head of Sumberanyar Village.
The clarification was needed because there was no clear information in the summon letters about the case. Summons letter No. B/124/I/2018/Satreskrim was perfunctory. It merely stated that the two members of FKTS and the head of the Village were summoned in connection with Police Report No. LBP/1593/XII/2017/Um/Jatim, dated 22 December 2017 on behalf of Mr. Eddy Kuspangat. But there was no specific allegation of a crime mentioned in the summons letter. As a result, the summon’s letter is in violation of the Indonesian Criminal Code Procedure (KUHAP) Article 122. It states that [t]he authority to summon a suspect and a witness deemed necessary to be examined by the issuance of a valid summons, must clearly give the reasons for the summons […].
The land dispute between the Navy and the Sumberanyar Villagers has been going on for a long period of time and is still unaddressed today. Despite the fact that the villagers had reported the case to the Government, neither local nor central Government addressed the report. Therefore the land conflict is still continuing and resulting in human rights violations. Take for example the case in Alas Tlogo Village, Lekok sub-district, Pasuruan Regency. Here, four local residents died after fighting for land rights against Navy personnel.
According to the Sumberanyar Village Head, the main problem of the land conflict is that the Navy illegally occupied lands approximating 5,435,010 m2 in Sumberanyar Village. The legal basis of the occupation is that the Land Used Certificate (sertifikat hak pakai) belongs to the Department of Defense and National Security and the Navy. However, according to the certificate, the land is allocated for housing villages. Nowhere is there is anything specific written in the land certificate that it can be used for military purposes. In fact, even today local residents are still farming in the land disputed area.
Local residents have older, ORIGINAL documents compared to the Navy’s land document. Following are two examples of Sumberanyar Villagers: Letter No. D issued by the Government dated 3 October 1959 belongs to Mr. Mulyo alias Sana Cs; Girik Certificate (buku C Desa) No. 138 belongs to Mr. Sarimin Cs. Furthermore, the local residents have another factor in their favor in the form of yearly tax payment receipts. This tax paid by the residents, is solid, valid evidence that the residents are entitled to the land.
Nonetheless, the Letter of the National Land Agency (BPN), East Java Province (Kanwil Provinsi Jawa Timur), No. 570.35-4898, issued on 27 April 2000, stated that the land scale 5,396,450 m2 belongs to the Department of Defense and the Navy. The letter stated that on 14 April 1963 there was payment recapitulation of the land in Sumberanyar Village. But, the land payments from the Navy, Department of Defense to the residents of Sumberanyar Village, has never been documented. This can be seen in the original land document (Warkah) Decision Letter No. 278/IIP/35/1992 dated 08 July 1992. Thus the validity of land payments by the Navy and the Department of Defense remain questionable.
Up until today, various advocacy efforts have been conducted by residents who are also members of the Farmers Communication Forum of Sumberanyar (FKTS) along with the head of Sumberanyar Village. They have formally communicated with the Local Government in Pasuruan Regency, Local Parliament Member of Pasuruan, Parliament Member of East Java Province and the Central Government. There has been no response or concrete action undertaken by the Government. On the contrary, Navy personnel still intimidate local residents of Sumberanyar Village. The Navy issued Letter No. B/169-04/18/50/lant-V. It is regarding the prohibition of any activity on the land, including prohibition of developing houses and issuing identity cards to residents. The Navy issued a similar second Letter on October 2017. They now commanded that the local residents would only receive compensation amounting to IDR 10,000,000 (Ten Million Rupiah). This is a very small amount, merely enough to feed a family for two months.
On December 7, 2017 local representative of FKTS had a meeting with the local parliament members of Pasuruan Regency and they promised to address the problem. But, the situation worsened. The Navy brought in heavy vehicles and equipment to dig and occupy the land in Gunung Bakor, Sumberanyar Village. Subsequently the three community leaders of Sumberanyar Village were summoned by the Police. They are: #1 the chair of FKTS, Mr Lasminto. #2 Secretary General of Papanjati (a local civil society organization), Mr Eko Suryono, and #3 the head of the Village Mr. Purwo Eko Hadi Santoso. The Police then issued a Summon’s Letter No. LBP/1593/XII/2017/Um/Jatim dated 22 December 2017. Residents believe that the summon’s letter is part of Navy strategy to intimidate residents and stop any advocacy efforts on the right to land.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the Authorities listed below. Ask them to ensure that the Government in the person of President Joko Widodo, as the highest military commander, and the Indonesian Military Commander must stop any illegal efforts committed by the Navy upon the lands of the Sumberagung residents. The matter must be solved peacefully, through court mechanisms or non- judicial mechanisms which can be accepted by both parties. The Navy should stop various forms of intimidation and terror against the residents. The National Land Agency should be neutral and consistently implement land reform as mandated by Law No. 5 of 1960 on basic agrarian law. The National Commission on Human Rights and Commission One of the House of Representative on Defense and Security should be proactively involved in the settlement of the matter.
The AHRC will write a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Situation of Human Rights Defenders and UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food calling for their intervention in this matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
INDONESIA : Residents of Sumberanyar Village fight for land rights but are criminalized and intimidated
Name of victims: Local residents of Sumberanyar illage; the chair of FKTS, Mr Lasminto. Secretary General of Papanjati (a local civil society organization), Mr Eko Suryono, and the head of the Village, Mr. Purwo Eko Hadi Santoso.
Names of alleged perpetrators: Indonesian Navy
Date of incident: Between 2017 and 2018
Place of incident: Sumberanyar Village, Nguling sub-district, Pasuruan Regency, East Java Province.
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding a land dispute case between the Navy and local residents of Sumberanyar village, Nguling sub-district, Pasuruan Regency, East Java Province. For many years, the residents have fought for their land. They have presented evidence with land documents, but the Navy continued on occupying their land. They intimidated and forced the residents to accept only a small amount of compensation for their land. The Police acted unfairly by summoning activists and the head of Sumberanyar Village because of their advocacy efforts on the right to land.
On February 5, 2018, approximately 20 residents of Sumberanyar Village, accompanied by lawyers from KontraS branch office of East Java Province came to Pasuruan City Police Station, (Polresta Pasuruan). They needed to clarify summon letters previously sent to two members of the Farmers Communication Forum of Sumberanyar (FKTS) and to the head of Sumberanyar Village.
The clarification was needed because there was no clear information in the summon letters about the case. Summons letter No. B/124/I/2018/Satreskrim was perfunctory. It merely stated that the two members of FKTS and the head of the Village were summoned in connection with Police Report No. LBP/1593/XII/2017/Um/Jatim, dated 22 December 2017 on behalf of Mr. Eddy Kuspangat. But there was no specific allegation of a crime mentioned in the summons letter. As a result, the summon’s letter is in violation of the Indonesian Criminal Code Procedure (KUHAP) Article 122. It states that [t]he authority to summon a suspect and a witness deemed necessary to be examined by the issuance of a valid summons, must clearly give the reasons for the summons […].
The land dispute between the Navy and the Sumberanyar Villagers has been going on for a long period of time and is still unaddressed today. Despite the fact that the villagers had reported the case to the Government, neither local nor central Government addressed the report. Therefore the land conflict is still continuing and resulting in human rights violations. Take for example the case in Alas Tlogo Village, Lekok sub-district, Pasuruan Regency. Here, four local residents died after fighting for land rights against Navy personnel.
According to the Sumberanyar Village Head, the main problem of the land conflict is that the Navy illegally occupied lands approximating 5,435,010 m2 in Sumberanyar Village. The legal basis of the occupation is that the Land Used Certificate (sertifikat hak pakai) belongs to the Department of Defense and National Security and the Navy. However, according to the certificate, the land is allocated for housing villages. Nowhere is there is anything specific written in the land certificate that it can be used for military purposes. In fact, even today local residents are still farming in the land disputed area.
Local residents have older, ORIGINAL documents compared to the Navy’s land document. Following are two examples of Sumberanyar Villagers: Letter No. D issued by the Government dated 3 October 1959 belongs to Mr. Mulyo alias Sana Cs; Girik Certificate (buku C Desa) No. 138 belongs to Mr. Sarimin Cs. Furthermore, the local residents have another factor in their favor in the form of yearly tax payment receipts. This tax paid by the residents, is solid, valid evidence that the residents are entitled to the land.
Nonetheless, the Letter of the National Land Agency (BPN), East Java Province (Kanwil Provinsi Jawa Timur), No. 570.35-4898, issued on 27 April 2000, stated that the land scale 5,396,450 m2 belongs to the Department of Defense and the Navy. The letter stated that on 14 April 1963 there was payment recapitulation of the land in Sumberanyar Village. But, the land payments from the Navy, Department of Defense to the residents of Sumberanyar Village, has never been documented. This can be seen in the original land document (Warkah) Decision Letter No. 278/IIP/35/1992 dated 08 July 1992. Thus the validity of land payments by the Navy and the Department of Defense remain questionable.
Up until today, various advocacy efforts have been conducted by residents who are also members of the Farmers Communication Forum of Sumberanyar (FKTS) along with the head of Sumberanyar Village. They have formally communicated with the Local Government in Pasuruan Regency, Local Parliament Member of Pasuruan, Parliament Member of East Java Province and the Central Government. There has been no response or concrete action undertaken by the Government. On the contrary, Navy personnel still intimidate local residents of Sumberanyar Village. The Navy issued Letter No. B/169-04/18/50/lant-V. It is regarding the prohibition of any activity on the land, including prohibition of developing houses and issuing identity cards to residents. The Navy issued a similar second Letter on October 2017. They now commanded that the local residents would only receive compensation amounting to IDR 10,000,000 (Ten Million Rupiah). This is a very small amount, merely enough to feed a family for two months.
On December 7, 2017 local representative of FKTS had a meeting with the local parliament members of Pasuruan Regency and they promised to address the problem. But, the situation worsened. The Navy brought in heavy vehicles and equipment to dig and occupy the land in Gunung Bakor, Sumberanyar Village. Subsequently the three community leaders of Sumberanyar Village were summoned by the Police. They are: #1 the chair of FKTS, Mr Lasminto. #2 Secretary General of Papanjati (a local civil society organization), Mr Eko Suryono, and #3 the head of the Village Mr. Purwo Eko Hadi Santoso. The Police then issued a Summon’s Letter No. LBP/1593/XII/2017/Um/Jatim dated 22 December 2017. Residents believe that the summon’s letter is part of Navy strategy to intimidate residents and stop any advocacy efforts on the right to land.
Therefore, I respectfully request you to ensure that to ensure that the Government in the person of President Joko Widodo, as the highest military commander, and the Indonesian Military Commander must stop any illegal efforts committed by the Navy upon the lands of the Sumberagung residents. The matter must be solved peacefully, through court mechanisms or non- judicial mechanisms which can be accepted by both parties. The Navy should stop various forms of intimidation and terror against the residents. The National Land Agency should be neutral and consistently implement land reform as mandated by Law No. 5 of 1960 on basic agrarian law. The National Commission on Human Rights and Commission One of the House of Representative on Defense and Security should be proactively involved in the settlement of the matter.
I look forward to your prompt action in this matter.
Yours Sincerely,
……………….
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Joko Widodo
President of the Republic of Indonesia
Jl. Veteran No. 16
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3458 595
Fax: +62 21 3484 4759
E-mail: webmaster@setneg.go.id
2. Mr. Yasonna Laoly
Minister of Law and Human Rights
Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav. 6–7
Kuningan, Jakarta 12940
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 525 3006, 525 3889
Fax: +62 21 525 3095
3. Dr. Mualimin Abdi SH., MH
Director General of Human Rights
Office of the Director General of Human Rights
Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav. 6–7
Kuningan, Jakarta 12940
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 5253006
Fax: +62 21 5253095
4. Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto
Chief of Indonesian Military
Mabes TNI Cilangkap Jakarta Timur
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 84595576, +62 21 8459-5326
Fax: + 62 21 84591193
Email: ppidtni@puspen.tni.mil.id
5. General Pol. Drs. H.M. Tito Karnavian, M.A., Ph.D
Chief of National Police (KAPOLRI)
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3 KebayoranBaru, Jakarta Selatan 12110
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 384 8537, 726 0306
Fax: +62 21 7220 669
E-mail: info@polri.go.id
6. Ms. Poengky Indarti
Commissioner of the National Police Commission
Jl. Tirtayasa VII No. 20
KebayoranBaru, Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 739 2315
Fax: +62 21 739 2352
E-mail: secretariat@kompolnas.go.id, skm@kompolnas.go.id
8. Mr. Kahar Muzakir
Chairperson of the Commission III of The House of Representative
Ketua Komisi III DPR RI
Gedung Nusantara II DPR RI, Lt I
JalanJenderalGatotSubroto, Jakarta,
INDONESIA
Telp : +62 21 -5715566, +62 21-5715569, +62 21-5715864
Fax : +62 21 5715566
9. Mr. Mahfudz Siddiq
Chairperson of the Commission one of the House of Representative [DPR]
Gedung Nusantara II DPR RI, Lt I
JalanJenderalGatotSubroto, Jakarta,
INDONESIA
Tel : +62 21 5715.520, +62 21 5715.518 / 581
Fax : +62 21 5715. 328 / +62 21 571 5687
Email : bag_pengaduan@dpr.go.id
10. Mr. Abdul Haris Semendawai
Chairperson of the Agency for Victims and Witness Protection
Lembaga Perlindungan Saksi dan Korban (LPSK)
Jalan Raya Bogor KM. 24 No. 47-49, Susukan, Ciracas, RT.6/RW.1, Susukan, Ciracas, Kota Jakarta Timur, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 13750
Tel: +62 21 29681560
Fax: +62 21 29681551 / +62 21 29681557
11. Mr. Ahmad Taufan Damanik
Chairperson of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM)
Jl. Latuharhary No. 4-B
Jakarta 10310
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 392 5227-30
Fax: +62 21 392 5227
E-mail: info@komnas.go.id
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
