Ministry wants objective inquiry into arrest of environmentalist<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Forestry is demanding an objective investigation
\ninto the recent arrest of environmentalist Bestari Raden, 50,
\nafter the Aceh martial law administration accused him of
\ninvolvement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).<\/p>\n
The secretary-general of the ministry, Wahyudi Wardoyo, said
\nthat his office would provide legal advisors for Bestari even
\nthough he already had a legal team for the case.<\/p>\n
\"Basically, we don't want anything negative to happen without
\nan objective investigation by police officers in Aceh. We've been
\nin contact with the Southeast Aceh Police and the commander of
\nmilitary operations there. They gave positive responses,\" he said
\nwithout going into detail.<\/p>\n
Bestari was arrested in Southeast Aceh on March 26 by the Aceh
\nmartial law administration while visiting the area as a member of
\na government team assigned to evaluate the feasibility of the
\ncontroversial Ladia Galaska highway project.<\/p>\n
He was appointed through a joint decree issued by the Ministry
\nof Forestry, the Office of the Coordinating Minister for
\nPolitical and Security Affairs and the Aceh martial law
\nadministrator.<\/p>\n
Wahyudi said the team had been trying to promote an objective
\ninvestigation and provide necessary documents, including the
\ndecree, to police to prove that Bestari was working for the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Currently, Bestari is represented by a team of legal advisors
\nthat include the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights
\nAssociation (PBHI), the Indonesian Forum for the Environment
\n(Walhi) in Aceh and the legal bureau of the Ministry of Forestry.<\/p>\n
The martial law administration has alleged that Bestari served
\nas a GAM leader for the Tapak Tuan area in 2000. GAM spokesman
\nSofyan Dawood has refuted the allegation, saying that Bestari was
\nnot one of his men leading GAM fighters in the war against
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
A number of activists have lashed out at the arrest, saying
\nthat the move was part of systematic attempts to silence those
\ncritical of government policies in Aceh.<\/p>\n
According to them, Bestari had been active as an
\nenvironmentalist in the capital and foreign countries since 1999.<\/p>\n
Wahyudi confirmed the statement, adding that Bestari's
\nfrequent involvement in environmental issues was indeed the main
\nreason behind his appointment.<\/p>\n
However, he said the ministry would not investigate the
\npossibility of Bestari being involved with GAM, saying it \"was
\nnot within the authority of the ministry\".<\/p>\n
Hasjrul Junadi of the Indonesian Network for Forest
\nConservation (SKEPHI) told the Post on Monday that they planned
\nto meet with Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno and National
\nPolice chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar soon.<\/p>\n
\"We want to urge them to bring Bestari's case to Jakarta, or
\nat least to the Aceh Police to assure that he is treated fairly
\nand humanely,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Wahyudi said the government team was still working
\non its initial assignment for the Ladia Galaska project.<\/p>\n
\"But they haven't made or sent any reports on their findings
\nso far. Probably in the next few days they'll give us their
\npreliminary findings,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The project, which passes through the protected Leuser
\nNational Park, home to many of the country's endangered species,
\nhas drawn strong opposition from foreign groups and local
\nenvironmentalists, as well as the Ministry of Forestry and the
\nOffice of the State Minister of the Environment.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ministry-wants-objective-inquiry-into-arrest-of-environmentalist-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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