Ex-police chief to stand trial over Flores violence
The Jakarta Post, Kupang
Former Manggarai Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Boni Tompoi will face trial over the deaths of six coffee farmers on Flores island, East Nusa Tenggara, during a violent protest last month.
East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang said on Wednesday Tompoi was the main suspect in the March 10 incident that also left 24 people injured when about 400 villagers clashed with police at the Ruteng Police station in Manggarai regency.
"The trial for the suspect will begin in early May," Aritonang said in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.
Tompoi was dismissed from his post days after the incident.
Aritonang said police had named 21 suspects, including Tompoi, in the incident and that their case files had been submitted to the local prosecutor's office.
The violence is believed to have been triggered by a dispute over coffee plantations that police destroyed because they were located in a protected forest in Manggarai.
Aritonang said his officers were searching for at least seven people who allegedly masterminded the attack on the Ruteng Police station by villagers, who were seeking the release of seven farmers being questioned inside.
The seven were detained by the police on allegations they owned the illegal plantations.
The Manggarai administration banned farming in the protected forest but locals have ignored the ban, and last year authorities destroyed about 15,000 hectares of coffee farms located in the forest.
Police say they shot and killed six farmers during the attack on the police station. They claim the farmers, armed with machetes and sticks, slashed a police cadet and ransacked the station.
They say the farmers also ignored warnings to disburse and continued to attack officers.
The police shooting has been condemned by human rights activists from at least 12 non-governmental organizations.
Grouped in the Solidarity Forum for the People of Manggarai, the NGOs have asked the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to investigate the shooting.
Earlier this month, a Komnas HAM team led by MM Billah spent two days in Manggarai to begin a plenary investigation into the incident.
There is no word on whether the team found indications of rights violations in the shooting.
The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association and the Indonesian Forest Conservation Cooperation Network have deplored the incident and have urged the government to investigate the shooting.
The two non-governmental organizations also said Manggarai Regent Antony Bagur Dagul should be held responsible for the violence because he barred locals from farming in the protected forest and ordered the police to arrest the seven farmers.
According to the NGOs, the regent had no right to ban farming in the forest because it belonged to local communities before being declared a nature reserve.
Police have not included the regent on its list of suspects in the violence.