Pressure mounts on police to free Toba Pulp protesters<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
Pressure is mounting on the police to release 16 people arrested
\nfor protesting against the planned reopening of the PT Toba Pulp
\nLestari (TPL) pulp mill in Porsea, North Sumatra, as the Sweden-
\nbased NGO, Jij Vecht Tegen Onrecht, protested the arrests on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
The Jij Vecht Tegen Onrecht director for Asia, Mr. Vandevoort,
\ndelivered a letter to National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar to
\nprotest the arrests, calling for the immediate release of the
\ndetainees.<\/p>\n
"The police's move to arrest the protesters, whose rights are
\nprotected by law, is actually a form of terrorism aimed at
\nsupporting the reopening of PT Inti Indo Rayon, which has now
\nchanged its name to PT Toba Pulp Lestari," he said in a letter, a
\ncopy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
The detainees, including two church ministers, are still
\nundergoing intensive interrogation in Tarutung police station,
\nNorth Tapanuli. They were arrested for their alleged involvement
\nin the ransacking of a district head's office during a protest
\nlast Thursday.<\/p>\n
Vandevoort said the detainees should be released to avoid more
\nprotests, and the security personnel deployed to protect Porsea
\nshould be pulled out.<\/p>\n
TPL, whose operations were halted temporarily, is widely
\nopposed in the province for its failure to work together with
\nPorsea residents and to comply with environmental regulations.<\/p>\n
Separately, Johnson Panjaitan, coordinator of the advocacy
\nteam for the Porsea residents, condemned the arrests, which he
\nsaid were part of a systematic strategy designed by the
\nauthorities and the mill management to reopen the factory.<\/p>\n
He said he was very disappointed with the police because the
\ndetainees were not allowed to receive visitors or to have lawyers
\npresent during interrogation.<\/p>\n
Johnson who, along with Tunggul Sirait, a member of the House
\nof Representatives, was refused permission to meet with the
\ndetainees, said those arrested were in a weak state as they had
\nbeen mistreated during interrogation.<\/p>\n
The advocacy team has sued the police for what he called
\n"arbitrary arrests".<\/p>\n
Johnson said hundreds of Porsea residents would stage another
\ndemonstration near the pulp mill in Sirait Uruk on Saturday to
\ngreet Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea, who
\nwas scheduled to hold meetings with local officials and
\ntraditional leaders at the mill site.<\/p>\n
Sr. Comr. Iskandar Hasan, the provincial police chief of
\ndetectives, denied that the detainees had been mistreated.<\/p>\n
"The interrogators would be punished if they were found guilty
\nof abusing the detainees," he said.<\/p>\n
He said nobody was being allowed to visit the detainees as the
\ninvestigation was still underway.<\/p>\n
Iskandar said the police would enhance security in Porsea in
\nconnection with the minister's visit. While people could stage
\ndemonstrations, they would have to be held in accordance with the
\nlaw.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pressure-mounts-on-police-to-free-toba-pulp-protesters-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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