INDONESIA: Hundreds of villagers forcibly evicted in Southeast Sulawesi 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the forced eviction of hundreds of villagers and the destruction and burning of houses in Kontu Village, Muna Island, Southeast Sulawesi.

On 29 November 2005, police began forcibly evicting people in Kontu village despite their protests. On November 30, police destroyed three village houses, along with crops that had been grown on the land. They also chased, attacked and injured 20 villagers. On December 2, police destroyed 100 of the village’s 500 houses. The police stopped only after it became dark, and continued again on December 4 after the district refused the villagers demands to stop the eviction on December 3. On December 4, police destroyed several houses and clashed with villagers, injuring five of them.

At least 25 villagers have been injured, and 150 houses burned and destroyed. Hundreds of villagers, including women and children, are now forced to live in the village meeting hall.

The AHRC finds the government’s justification for this eviction and the police’s cruel methods of evicting the villagers entirely unacceptable, and therefore calls for your urgent intervention. Please write to the Chief of the National Police and others and ask that the evictions be immediately halted until a review is conducted into the plantation plans. A proper relocation programme should also be put in place, which takes into consideration alternative and appropriate employment and healthcare provisions for the affected villagers. Please also ask that victims of physical violence and destruction of property be fully compensated.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Victims: Hundreds of Kontu villagers, including women and children
Address of the victims: Kontu Village, Muna Island, Southeast Sulawesi
Alleged perpetrators: Administrative Police Unit attached to the Muna District
Date of incident: 29 November until 4 December 2005
Place of incident: Kontu Village, beside a preserved forest on Muna Island

Case details:

Prior to the incident, the Muna district government announced plans to turn Kontu village land into a plantation, claiming that the land belonged to an adjacent preserved forest. Villagers challenged the government’s authority in evicting them from ancestral lands, stating that their ancestors had possessed the land and therefore it was rightfully there’s. They also argued that the government could not show the exact border of the forest.

On November 29, police began forcibly evicting people in Kontu village despite their protests. On November 30, police destroyed three village houses and crops that had been grown on the land. They also chased, attacked and injured 20 villagers. On December 2, police destroyed 100 of the village’s 500 houses. The police only stopped this action as night fell but again resumed on December 4 after the district refused the villagers’ demands to stop the eviction on December 3. On December 4, police destroyed several houses and clashed with villagers, injuring five of them. In total, 150 houses were destroyed, and 25 villagers injured.

Families, who lost their shelter, including women and children, have been forced to live in the village meeting hall since their eviction.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter to the President, the Chief of the National Police and the Public Housing Department, urging them to halt the eviction immediately and reconsider the legitimacy of their plan, as well as take steps for proper relocation and compensation.

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