Officials hail anti-illegal logging operation
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
A two-month joint operation against illegal logging in Papua has ended with "satisfying" results, the National Police and the Ministry of Forestry said on Friday.
The head of the operation, Comr. Gen. Ismerda Lebang, who also heads the security and order department at the National Police, said his team met its target by preventing Rp 2 trillion (US$210 million) in potential losses from timber theft. He also said 173 people had been named as suspects during the operation.
"The operation went as smoothly as we planned and there were almost no obstacles, except for collecting evidence and witnesses in isolated areas in Papua," he said.
The team, tasked with fighting illegal logging in Papua, began operation Hutan Lestari (Sustainable Forest) on March 5 and completed the operation on Thursday. The Rp 12 billion operation involved the police, forestry officials, prosecutors and the military.
Ismerda said the team confiscated 80,768 logs, 20,162 cubic meters of processed timber, 850 pieces of heavy equipment, four boats, 43 trucks, 13 barges, 14 tugboats, 46 chain saws and 298 other pieces of equipment.
The case files on at least 25 suspects have been submitted to prosecutors and they will soon stand trial on charges of illegal logging. The case files on the remaining 151 suspects are still being completed.
The detained suspects include three middle-ranking Papua Police officers -- Comr. Hariyanto, Adj. Comr. Sumadi and Comr. Marthen Renau.
"We had better results than with previous operations. Most of the suspects this time are financial backers, not just operators or small-scale illegal loggers," Ismerda said.
"We are currently in the process of bringing the suspects to court, including police officers and forestry officials," he said.
The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency and the Indonesian environmental group Telapak recently announced their findings that illegal logging in Papua was backed or committed by high-ranking Indonesian Military (TNI) officers, working with the police and government officials.
However, the recent operation did not lead to the arrests of any senior police or military officers.
The Attorney General's Office, the National Police and the TNI are now setting up a team to coordinate the prosecution of suspects from different backgrounds.
Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban said the team also would sell the confiscated timber and heavy equipment, with the money going to the state.
"We are planning to hold an open auction so that every registered company can bid (for the seized goods). People involved in illegal logging will not be allowed to take part in the auction in order to prevent them from trying to buy back their illegal timber," Kaban said without specifying the auction date.
Although the joint operation has officially ended, the team plans to set up a working group to discuss and review the regulations on the issuance of logging licenses.
The working group will determine whether only forestry agencies are authorized to issue logging licenses.
"We will publish the results of the discussion so the public, especially forestry officials and law enforcers, can understand the concept of the regulations and how to enforce them," Ismerda said.