Jakarta Globe, Vita A.D. Busyra, May 16, 2014
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| Kajang men holding bamboo trees at Amatoa village where the Kajang tribe live in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, on Aug. 12, 2013. Deep in a remote forest in the archipelago, the Kajang tribe lives much as it has done for centuries, resisting nearly all the trappings of modern life. (AFP Photo/Adek Berry) |
President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is facing criticism over delays in issuing a decree to
implement a Constitutional Court verdict handing over the country’s customary
forests to their indigenous people.
One year
on, the ruling shows no signs of being realized, civil society groups said on
Tuesday, resulting in continued conflict between indigenous groups, companies
and local governments over the management of the forests.
The
Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) and other nongovernmental
organizations are planning to send an open letter to Yudhoyono as well as the
country’s next leader if the former fails to act during his term, which ends in
October.
Abdon
Nababan, AMAN secretary general, expressed hope that Yudhoyono would not want
to end his term with red marks on his presidential performance record, leaving
a legacy of ignoring the plight to save the forests and their inhabitants.
“Therefore,
I believe he will consider this issue,” he said during a discussion to
commemorate the one-year anniversary of the verdict on Tuesday.
Abdon said
a presidential decree would detail instructions to both the central and
regional governments on the steps they can take to help empower the country’s
indigenous population.
This can be
accomplished, he explained, by allowing them to manage and benefit from their
own forests without damaging the environment.
Deputy
secretary general of the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) Iwan Nurdin said the
matter has been prolonged by ministries that hold a vested interest in the
areas to be transferred.
“Although
Yudhoyono has given his commitment, other officials — particularly the Home
Affairs Ministry and the Forestry Ministry — are against the idea,” he said,
adding that the indigenous people have not received any benefits from the
customary lands as part of reciprocal promises the government had made.
“They
[ministries] should receive the blame; they issued permits for their own
interests, leaving the indigenous people and the country with nothing,” he
said.
Iwan also
“rent-seeking political elites” failed to prioritize an agenda for a agrarian
reform.
“The
imbalance in land ownership between corporations and the native inhabitants is
still extremely high.”
Agrarian
conflict
The
indigenous community, people who hail from customary forest areas and their
surroundings, have been pushed out from their own homes by agrarian conflicts,
activists said.
Data
collected by AMAN revealed that the 143 violent clashes recorded in 2013 were
just the tip of the iceberg as researchers claimed missing reports and
incomplete documents of many other instances were not taken into consideration.
“The
agrarian conflicts have violated human rights. More locals will be punished as
criminals and poverty will remain high as long as the government does nothing,”
Abdon said.
AMAN, in a
joint venture with other NGOs including Epistema, HuMa, WALHI, Greenpeace,
Forest Watch Indonesia, Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) and Indigenous
Territory Registration Board (BRWA) plan to draft a proposal on what the
current government can do to bring justice to the indigenous people.
Sandra
Moniaga, commissioner of the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM),
said her institution has initiated a national inquiry and conducted thorough
investigations on issues connected to the status of the basic rights of
Indonesia’s indigenous communities, particularly those still living in forests
and their surroundings.
“I expect
the national inquiry to become a priority, because numerous cases of infringement
have caused national concern in the past,” she said, adding that last year’s
Constitutional Court (MK) verdict should not only reinstate the indigenous
people’s rights, but further expand them and empower indigenous people.
Mirna A.
Safitri, executive director of the Epistema Institute, emphasized that local
governments had an important role in carrying out orders issued by the MK as
the central government has mandated the implementation to the regions in
question.
“Each
region’s bylaws are still far from satisfactory and, thus, should be improved.
We need more regulations that look after the indigenous community’s best
interests, preserve their homes and improve their way of living,” she said.
Mirna added
that the MK verdict should also help to establish a peaceful relationship
between the indigenous communities and the modern society that surrounds them.
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