Ex-police chief to stand trial over Flores violence

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.