Cases, Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 13 September 2024 

The Indonesian government’s ambitious plan to create a one-million-hectare rice field in the Merauke Regency, Papua Selatan Province, is moving forward without proper consultation with indigenous communities and despite significant environmental risks. On 12 July 2024, the Minister of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), Siti Nurbaya, issued Minister of Environment and Forestry Decree No. 835 of 2024 on Approval of Forest Area Use for Food Security Facilities and Infrastructure Development Activities in the Framework of Defence and Security on behalf of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence covering 13,540 hectares of Protected Forest Area, Permanent Production Forest Area and Convertible Production Forest Area in Merauke Regency.

The project, part of the National Strategic Project (PSN), has seen the arrival of hundreds of excavators and heavy equipment, raising alarm among human rights and environmental organisations. According to the information received, the project coordinator, the Indonesian entrepreneur Mr Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad aka. Haji Isam, ordered a total of 2,000 excavators from China to implement the project. HRM received photos and videos showing the arrival of excavators in the project area by ship. One video shows the excavators clearing large areas of land (see videos and photos below, source: independent HRDs).

The project gravely violates the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), a fundamental right of indigenous peoples. According to press relese published on 13 September 2023 by the Indonesian foundation ‘Pusaka Bentala Rakyat’ (PUSAKA), local indigenous Malind communities, including the Gebze Moywend and Gebze Dinaulik clans, report that their lands, hamlets, and customary forests have been seized without any prior deliberation or consensus. This blatant disregard for indigenous rights is further exacerbated by the presence of armed military personnel securing the project implementation.

The indigenous Malind people, holding the customary land rights in the project area, have firmly rejected all forms of corporate investment on their customary lands. This unified stance was declared by various Malind communities in response to the Indonesian government’s National Strategic Project aiming to establish sugar and bioethanol self-sufficiency and a food barn project spanning millions of hectares in Merauke. Indigenous communities have expressed deep concerns about the potential loss of their lands, forests, and cultural heritage to large-scale development projects.

This rejection highlights the ongoing struggle for indigenous rights and environmental preservation in West Papua. The communities’ concerns stem from past negative experiences with corporate interventions and fears of marginalisation and cultural erosion. The call for intervention from the South Papua People’s Assembly and the Merauke Regional Government emphasizes the need for government accountability and respect for indigenous rights in development planning, urging a re-evaluation of national strategic projects that potentially violate human rights.

Environmental concerns are equally pressing. The project area overlaps with 858 hectares of natural forests and peatlands, as indicated in the Indicative Map of the Termination of Business Licensing (PIPPIB). The large-scale destruction of these ecosystems will significantly increase carbon emissions, directly contradicting Indonesia’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gases. The lack of transparency and the absence of an FPIC-based consultation with indigenous communities support allegations that the project lacks proper environmental impact assessments and approvals. Affected communities and environmental organisations have not been involved in discussions or received information on environmental documents.

The Merauke Food Estate project exemplifies a worrying development trend at the expense of indigenous rights and environmental sustainability. It is crucial for the Indonesian government to reevaluate the project, prioritizing inclusive, just, and sustainable development that respects the rights of indigenous peoples and preserves critical ecosystems. Failure to do so will inevitably undermine global efforts to combat climate change and preserve biodiversity on our planet.

Arrival of first excavators in Merauke in mid-August 2024

August 20, 2024 18:43 GMT+700 Makassar (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government is committed to building Merauke in South Papua Province as a food barn.

Merauke is expected to become the main source of national rice stock in the next two years, according to Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman.

“We are optimistic that the next two years of self-sufficiency will start from here,” he remarked after a two-day working visit to Wanam District, Merauke, on August 18-19.

During the visit, he evaluated the progress in optimizing 40 thousand hectares of swamp land spread across six districts.

To date, he highlighted that construction has reached more than half, with land cultivation and planting having reached 6,500 hectares.

The rice planting process would continue along with the completion of the harvest and construction of agricultural infrastructure, such as canals, bridges, and roads.

Sulaiman also reviewed the construction of a 135.5 km road from Ilwayab to Ngguti, which supported the 1 million hectare rice field program. The road was expected to be completed in the next three months.

The minister checked the volume of water channels along the road and instructed to increase the width and depth to optimize irrigation.

“We design it as long storage to irrigate the one million hectares of rice fields that we are preparing,” he explained.

In addition, Sulaiman instructed to create one hectare of rice planting plot along the road at a distance of every five kilometers. This plot will be proof of the suitability of land in Merauke to support rice growth.

The first stage of land optimization in the districts of Merauke, Tanah Miring, Semangga, Kurik, Janggebob, and Malind will be expanded from 40 thousand hectares to 100 thousand hectares.

To accelerate the realization of the target, 70 excavators have been mobilized from Wanam to those districts, and an additional 20 large combine harvesters and seeds will be readied this month.

Cases, Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 14 August 2024 

A contentious legal dispute has emerged in the Sorong Regency, Papua Barat Daya Province, involving PT Mancaraya Agro Mandiri (MAM), a subsidiary of the Manca Group, and the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) Malamoi. The conflict centres around allegations of illegal logging on customary lands belonging to several indigenous clans. PT MAM has issued a subpoena to the Chairman of AMAN Malamoi, Mr Torianus Kalami, demanding a retraction of public statements accusing the company of unauthorized logging. This case highlights the ongoing tensions between corporate interests and indigenous rights in Papua, raising significant human rights concerns regarding land ownership, environmental protection, and the rights of indigenous communities to their ancestral territories.

The conflict escalated as Mr Kalami reported alleged illegal logging activities by PT MAM after a field visit. In response, PT MAM’s legal team issued a subpoena on 18 July 2024, giving Mr Kalami 7×24 hours to retract his statements and apologize publicly. The company claims to be a victim of illegal loggers and asserts that its operational license remains valid, citing a recent agreement with the local government of Sorong Regency. PT MAM threatened to undertake legal action for defamation if their demands are not met. The subpoena was understood as an attempt to intimidate and silence indigenous rights advocates, raising concerns about the ability of local communities to protect their interests against powerful corporate entities.

The allegations against PT MAM involve unauthorized logging activities on customary lands belonging to the Klesi, Klow, Murpa, Maas, and Kwanik clans in the East Sayosa and Maudus districts of Sorong Regency. These actions, if proven true, would constitute severe violations of indigenous rights, including the right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) for activities on their ancestral lands. The alleged illegal logging also raises environmental concerns, potentially leading to deforestation and loss of biodiversity in ecologically sensitive areas. The company’s operations appear to be proceeding despite claims that its license has been revoked by the Sorong Regency government, which, if accurate, would indicate a disregard for local governance and regulatory processes. The alleged violations underscore the urgent need for stronger protections for indigenous land rights and more rigorous supervision of corporate activities in areas

Translator Najla Nur Fauziyah 

Editor Petir Garda Bhwana 

23 July 2024 08:41 WIB

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Representatives of the Awyu and Moi Sigin indigenous communities submitted a petition supporting the tribes’ struggle against palm oil companies to the Supreme Court on Monday, July 22, 2024, from South Papua and Southwest Papua. 

Their visit to the Supreme Court was also intended to question the progress of the Awyu and Moi Sigin tribes’ cassation filed respectively on Mack and early May.

“To this day, we have not received any information about the registration number of the cassation appeal that we, Awyu and Moi Sigin indigenous communities, submitted to the Supreme Court,” said the representative of the Awyu tribe, Hendrikus Woro in a written statement on Monday.

“We came all the way from Papua twice because we were waiting for a decision that would save our customary forests,” said Hendrikus.

Hendrikus Woro’s petition concerns the environmental permit issued by the Papua Provincial Government to PT Indo Asiana Lestari (IAL) for 36,094 hectares of the Woro clan’s customary forest. 

Apart from PT IAL, several members of the Awyu Indigenous communities are also filing an appeal against PT Kartika Cipta Pratama and PT Megakarya Jaya Raya for 65,415 hectares of rainforest.

In a separate case, the Moi Sigin sub-tribe is fighting against PT Sorong Agro Sawitindo (SAS) as the defendant intervenor. PT SAS sued the central government for revoking their permit on 18,160 hectares of customary forest. 

“We received 253,823 signatures in the petition supporting the Awyu and Moi tribes, which today will be submitted directly to the Supreme Court. This petition and the recent #AllEyesOnPapua movement are proof of many people’s concern for the tribes’ struggle,” said a member of the  Save Papua Forests’ Advocacy Team from the Bentala People’s Heritage Foundation, Tigor Hutapea, on Monday.

Member of the Save Papua Forests’ Advocacy Team from Greenpeace Indonesia, Sekar Banjaran Aji, said customary forests are an ancestral heritage that has supported the Awyu and Moi Sigin indigenous communities for generations. They depend on forests as hunting grounds and ‘supermarkets’ for various sources of food and medicine. Forests are also indigenous people’s culture and identity.

Sekar emphasized that saving Papua’s forests will not only strengthen the defense against the climate crisis and biodiversity extinction but also protect natural, social, and cultural wealth.

Moi Sigin indigenous woman, Diana Klafiyu, also expressed her appreciation for the support that has poured in for their struggle and those signing the petition. 

“I hope that the judge will decide in favor of us, the indigenous people of the Moi tribe and the Awyu tribe,” Diana said.

ANNISA FEBIOLA

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All Eyes On Papua, the solidarity movement to save customary forests in Cenderawasih continues to resonate  

byRedaksi Asiatoday

June 3, 2024

in SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

Reading Time: 3 mins read

ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The social media scene in Indonesia in the last few days has been filled with uploads of posters reading “All Eyes on Papua”.  This poster has been widely uploaded by residents as a form of support for the Papuan indigenous people, especially the Awyu and Moi tribes who are struggling to defend their customary forests.

This is because the customary forest, which has been a source of livelihood for the Awyu tribe in Boven Digoel, South Papua, and the Moi tribe in Sorong, West Papua, is at risk of being lost due to the expansion of the palm oil industry which is clearing land in Bumi Cenderawasih.

The “All Eyes on Papua” campaign has increasingly come into the public spotlight and gained momentum after environmental fighters from the Awyu and Moi tribes staged a protest at the Supreme Court, Jakarta, on Monday, May 27 2024.

Based on official information from the Coalition to Save Papua Customary Forests published on the official Greenpeace Indonesia website, the Awyu tribe and Moi tribe communities are both involved in legal action against the local government and palm oil companies to defend their customary forests. Both lawsuits have now reached the cassation stage at the Supreme Court.

An environmental fighter from the Awyu tribe, Hendrikus Woro, sued the Papua Provincial Government for issuing an environmental feasibility permit for PT IAL.

PT IAL has an environmental permit covering an area of ​​36,094 hectares, or more than half the area of ​​Jakarta City, and is located in the traditional forest of the Woro clan – part of the Awyu tribe.

However, Hendrikus’ lawsuit failed in the first and second instance courts. Now, the cassation at the Supreme Court is his remaining hope to defend the customary forest which has been his ancestral heritage and support the Woro clan for generations.

Apart from the PT IAL case’s cassation, a number of Awyu indigenous communities are also filing an cassation against the lawsuit of PT Kartika Cipta Pratama and PT Megakarya Jaya Raya, two palm oil companies which have also expanded and will expand in Boven Digoel. PT KCP and PT MJR, which previously lost at the Jakarta PTUN, filed an appeal and were won by a judge at the Jakarta State Administrative High Court (PTUN).

“We have been tormented for quite a long time by the existence of palm oil plans in our traditional territory. We want to raise our children through natural products. Palm oil will destroy our forests, we reject it,” said Rikarda Maa, an Awyu traditional woman.

The Moi Sigin sub-tribe is fighting against PT SAS which will clear 18,160 hectares of Moi Sigin customary forest for oil palm plantations. PT SAS previously held a concession of 40 thousand hectares in Sorong Regency.

In 2022, the central government will revoke PT SAS’s forest area release permit, followed by the revocation of business permits. Not accepting this decision, PT SAS sued the government at the Jakarta PTUN.

Representatives of the Moi Sigin indigenous community also fought back by submitting themselves as intervention defendants at the Jakarta PTUN in December 2023. After the judge rejected the lawsuit in early January, the Moi Sigin indigenous community filed an appeal to the Supreme Court on May 3 2024.

“I urge the Supreme Court to provide legal justice for us indigenous peoples. The customary forest is where we hunt and gather sago. The forest is a pharmacy for us. Our needs are all in the forest. If our traditional forests disappear, where else will we go?” said Fiktor Klafiu, a representative of the Moi Sigin indigenous community who was the defendant in the intervention.

According to the Coalition to Save Papuan Traditional Forests, the existence of oil palm plantations is said to destroy forests which are a source of livelihood, food, water, medicine, culture and knowledge for the Awyu and Moi indigenous communities. This forest is also a habitat for endemic Papuan flora and fauna, as well as storing large carbon reserves.

It is feared that palm oil plantation operations will trigger deforestation which will release 25 million tonnes of CO2e into the atmosphere, exacerbating the impact of the climate crisis in the country.

“The panel of judges needs to prioritize aspects of environmental and climate justice, the impacts of which will not only be felt by the Awyu and Moi tribes but also other Indonesian people,” said Tigor Hutapea, a member of the legal team for the Awyu and Moi tribes from Pusaka Bentala Rakyat.

Greenpeace Indonesia Forest Campaigner, Sekar Banjaran Aji, said that the struggle of the Awyu and Moi tribes was an honorable effort for the sake of customary forests, for the lives of their children and grandchildren today and in the future, and indirectly all of us.

“We invite the public to support the struggle of the Awyu and Moi tribes and speak out about saving Papua’s forests which are our stronghold in facing the climate crisis.” (AT Network)

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Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)(revival of the scholars) is Indonesia and the world’s largest Islamic organisation claiming almost 100 million members. If it digs coal it could become mega-rich. How dirty work marries with sending souls to paradise only Allah knows.

President Joko ’Jokowi’ Widodo has four months left in office, enough time to sow division before handing the job on to the elected former cashiered general Prabowo Subianto.

In May, Jokowi signed a decree letting religious groups apply to be the first shovel in the ore for special mining concessions. Not quite a gift from the gods as the Republic is supposed to be monotheistic, but pretty close.

This allows him to make good on an old promise to religious groups to take over mining concessions to raise funds. What the hell has coarse commerce got to do with matters of faith?

One answer: Politics, or as The Jakarta Post described it clumsily because pig meat is taboo to Muslims, “halal-certified state-sponsored pork barrelling”.

It added: “The government has come out with one of the most ridiculous policies in the history of this nation … It’s now up to the country’s largest Muslim organisation to back out on moral grounds.”

But will the lure of lucre prevail over Islam’s obligations to be honest, fair and righteous?

NU supported the Prabowo ticket in the February presidential election as did Jokowi who was constitutionally barred from taking a third five-year term.

Instead, he engineered for his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming to contest as number two. He’s now Vice-President elect.

The lead-up to the inauguration is a time to settle debts and cement alliances. If enough minor parties join the Prabowo-Gibran winning team, opposition will be left to NGOs.

Most are poor and poorly equipped to do more than their narrow roles, like advocating for human rights.

The churches have already knocked back Jokowi’s offer saying that fossil fuels are not their job and they’re better at consulting holy books than mining manuals. The mosques are dithering.

Second behind NU is Muhammadiyah (followers of Muhammad) with 60 million members. It tends to attract the better-educated middle class.

At present it’s pondering the Jokowi offer, but observers reckon nothing will happen as the gift has been pegged only for the NU.

The six government-approved religions, Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism have charity wings. They run schools, hospitals, clinics and retirement homes principally for their members and could probably improve their work with mining profits.

But supping with this devil will need a long-arm excavator.

Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia was reported as saying the handout was “in return to their past services during and after the country’s struggle for independence … you are investing for the hereafter.” That’s something most religions have been doing for millennia.

The government says any faith group that accepts the deal has to run the show themselves. This means they can’t flog off a mining permit or farm out business to an established company, even though it has the gear and expertise.

That rule crimps expectations of the beneficiaries only needing bigger truck parks and tips to take Haulpaks of rupiah.

A few right-wing congregations believe the earth is for exploitation; the rest take a more environmentally conscious position accepting that despoiling nature is not part of any Deity’s plan.

The better read will know that most responsible nations are moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

Indonesia is the world’s largest coal exporter and third biggest producer; to the distress of those worried about global warming it shows no sign of slowing down; the compound annual growth rate has been seven per cent since 2019. This year it expects to produce 710 million tonnes.

There are precedents for Jokowi’s generosity though unfair and distressing.

Last century then president Soeharto gave forestry concessions. Tens of thousands of hectares of virgin growth mainly in Kalimantan (Borneo island) to relatives and mates, particularly army generals, establishing vast business enterprises.

Many wield enormous power today and are part of the oligarchy. We’ve yet to hear how the profiteers feel about sharing their spoils with the pious.

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Duncan Graham

Duncan Graham has been a journalist for more than 40 years in print, radio and TV. He is the author of People Next Door (UWA Press). He is now writing for the English language media in Indonesia from within Indonesia.
Duncan Graham has an MPhil degree, a Walkley Award, two Human Rights Commission awards and other prizes for his radio, TV and print journalism in Australia. He lives in East Java.