Papua forestry heads go on trial<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura<\/p>\n
A high-ranking forestry official stood trial on Tuesday for
\nknowingly issuing illegal permits to loggers in Manokwari, West
\nIrian Jaya.<\/p>\n
At the Manokwari District Court, prosecutor Ari Sudihar
\ncharged defendant West Irian Jaya Forestry Office chief Marthen
\nLuther Rumadas with abusing a scheme that allowed Papuans to
\nselectively log timber for cultural reasons.<\/p>\n
Rumadas, along with Papua provincial forestry office head
\nMarthen Kayoi, were arrested by police on March 11 this year for
\nissuing logging permits that were later deemed illegal.<\/p>\n
The two are charged with violating the law on forestry. If
\nfound guilty, they could face a maximum sentence of five years'
\njail. Kayoi is expected to go on trial soon.<\/p>\n
During Rumadas' trial on Tuesday, his lawyer Yassin said that
\nthe Manokwari District Court had no competency to prosecute his
\nclient.<\/p>\n
Yassin told the panel of judges that Rumadas had made an
\nadministrative error and should be prosecuted by the State
\nAdministrative Court and not by the district court. Yassin also
\ndemanded the district court restore his client's tarnished
\nreputation. The court session is adjourned until next week to
\nhear the prosecutor's response.<\/p>\n
Separately, the deputy chief of military police corp Brig.
\nGen. Hendardji said an officer from the Trikora military command
\noverseeing Papua, Col. Richard Ginting, had been declared a
\nsuspect in a separate illegal logging case. He was currently
\nbeing detained, Hendardji said.<\/p>\n
The legal action comes after two environmental groups issued a
\nhigh-profile report in February detailing the smuggling of about
\n300,000 cubic meters of timber a month from Indonesia -- mostly
\nin Papua province -- to China.<\/p>\n
The report, The Last Frontier, which made international
\nheadlines, revealed the largest timber smuggling case of a single
\nspecies ever discovered, an operation estimated to be worth more
\nthan US$900 million a year.<\/p>\n
The report, by the London-based Environmental Investigation
\nAgency (EIA) and the Indonesian environmental group Telapak,
\nrevealed that Papua had become the main illegal logging hub in
\nthe country, identifying the Sorong, Manokwari, Fak Fak, Nabire
\nand Serui regencies as the main illegal logging centers.<\/p>\n
It alleged that the operation was supported and managed by
\nhigh-ranking Indonesian Military officers working in cahoots with
\ngovernment officials and law enforcers.<\/p>\n
Soon after the report's release the President instructed that
\nan \"integrated crackdown\" be launched against all suspected
\nparties, which led to the arrest of the two heads of forestry
\noffices in Papua.<\/p>\n
Police have so far detained and questioned 103 other people
\nabout illegal logging in the province, including Malaysian and
\nSouth Korean nationals.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/papua-forestry-heads-go-on-trial-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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