Rights body demands law enforcement in Porsea

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has told the relevant authorities in North Sumatra to enforce the law seriously against human rights abuses over persistent controversies shrouding PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) in Porsea subdistrict.

"We ask the authorities here to take legal action immediately when problems surface. People in Porsea, who are opposed to or support TPL are both involved in human rights abuses," Komnas HAM member Syamsudin said on Thursday.

"We have found significant violations here," he told The Jakarta Post after a meeting with North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin and other local senior officials in the provincial capital of Medan.

The meeting took place after Syamsudin and three other Komnas HAM members visited Porsea in Toba-Samosir regency, the site of the pulp mills, to verify reports of human rights violations there.

During the two-day visit which was the first by the rights commission since the plant became a public controversy in 1999, the Komnas HAM members met locals to gather information and data on alleged rights violations.

Syamsuddin, who chairs the commission's delegation, said law enforcement should be carried out synergically between all local government offices and opposing factions in Porsea.

He said his team found human rights violations committed by both those who were against and those who support the reopening of the controversial plant as both intimidated one another.

This has created insecurity and lawlessness, Syamsuddin added. "If this problem is not immediately resolved, the situation in Porsea will deteriorate."

The violations highlighted by the team include the killing of two local residents, Hermanto and Panuju Manurung, who were shot dead during a protest in 1999 to demand the closure of PT Inti Indorayon Utama, the previous name of PT TPL.

In the same year, Porsea saw similar deaths of three Indorayon supporters -- Patuan Sitorus, Saut Sitanggang and Suwardi Sitorus. Their bodies were found in the Asahan River on March 16, 1999.

Another incident, recorded by Komnas HAM members, took place when the house of Pakkat Manurung was set ablaze by those opposed to the operation of Indorayon in 1999.

Syamsuddin said the team would discuss the findings further with other Komnas HAM members in Jakarta before submitting recommendations on these issues to President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

He said that if it was deemed necessary, the team was ready to come back to Porsea for further investigation.

North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Dewa Astika, who attended Thursday's meeting, claimed that his office was still investigating the reported violations, vowing to do the job professionally.

He and Governor Rizal hailed the Komnas HAM's recommendations in relation to the protests for and against the operation of the pulp mills.

"We will carry out the recommendations without any exceptions. Whoever is found guilty of committing violations will face the law," Rizal told the Post.

TPL's operations were suspended in 1999 during the leadership of former president B.J. Habibie, in response to vociferous protests by local residents and environmental groups.

Locals have alleged that acid rain caused by TPL had drastically reduced the harvest of rice and other crops, while toxic gases released by the company were causing respiratory problems.

In 2000, the government gave TPL permission to resume its pulp operations. However, the company was not allowed to resume its rayon operations, in the hope that this would substantially reduce pollution.

Last month, four Cabinet ministers issued a joint decree allowing TPL to resume operations immediately. The company said that it would reopen in March.