NGOs sue govt over Sampit case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta District Court started
\nhearing on Monday a lawsuit filed by five non-governmental
\norganizations (NGOs) against the government for its failure to
\nprevent the bloodshed in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, between
\nFebruary and March this year.<\/p>\n
For its negligence, the NGOs demanded that the government pay
\nRp 1.9 billion in compensation and Rp 110.6 billion to help
\nresettle people of Madurese origin who were forced to flee their
\nhomes.<\/p>\n
The NGOs, who claim to represent some 28,000 Madurese migrants
\nwho were forced to flee Sampit as a result of the violence,
\ncharged the President, National Police chief and the Central
\nKalimantan provincial administration with "having done nothing to
\nstop the ethnic pogrom and even having allowed an act of genocide
\nto take place".<\/p>\n
"They (the government and the police) were supposed to provide
\nlegal protection for the (Madurese) people by taking resolute
\nmeasures against the rioters, but they failed to do so," Karel
\nTuacalu of the Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of
\nViolence (Kontras) told the court.<\/p>\n
At least 357 people, mostly Madurese, were killed and hundreds
\nof others wounded in the violence, which first erupted early in
\nFebruary. More than 28,000 people were forced to flee, with most
\nof them returning to their ancestral homeland of Madura in East
\nJava.<\/p>\n
A similar pogrom perpetrated by indigenous inhabitants and
\ndirected against Madurese migrants erupted in Sambas, West
\nKalimantan, in 1997.<\/p>\n
Joining Kontras in taking the class action against the
\ngovernment were the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights
\nAssociation (PBHI), the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation
\n(YLHBI), the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam),
\nand the Association of Legal Advisors and Indonesian Human Rights
\n(APHI).<\/p>\n
The NGOs also stated that the government and the police could
\nbe charged with violating Articles 1365 and 1366 of the Civil
\nCode for directly or indirectly causing losses to others.<\/p>\n
The trial was adjourned until July 23, to hear the response of
\ndefense lawyers from the Attorney General's Office and the
\nNational Police Legal Aid Unit. (tso)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ngos-sue-govt-over-sampit-case-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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