Rights team verifies abuses in Bulukumba

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi

A team from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said here on Friday it had verified reports of human rights abuses by police during protests in Bulukumba regency, South Sulawesi, last July in which two people died.

There are indications that the violence on July 21 could be categorized as a serious crime, the team said.

M.M. Billah, a member of the team, said the abuses ranged from the torture of suspects to the sexual harassment of female detainees by officers from the Bulukumba Police.

The torture directly involved Bulukumba Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Tigor Situmorang, Billah said in Makassar after returning from Bulukumba for a three-day investigation.

It was the second investigation of the incident by the Komnas HAM team, which also includes Hasballah M. Saad.

"The detained suspects told of being tortured by police officers. They said he (Tigor) took part in beating them. Female detainees said they were sexually harassed by officers, who ripped off the women's shirts and sarongs," Billah said.

He said the team also found evidence of procedural violations in the arrest of the suspects, with the police failing to produce arrest warrants.

Komnas HAM also verified a report that members of the police's elite Mobile Brigade escorted workers from rubber plantation company PT London Sumatra (Lonsum) as they destroyed crops belonging to local residents.

According to the police, two villagers were shot and killed by officers when some 1,000 villagers in Bulukumba protested on July 21 against what they said was decades of occupation of their ancestral land by Lonsum.

However, non-governmental organizations put the death toll at five. Dozens of others were injured.

After the incident, most of the male residents of at least two villages near Lonsum fled into the forest to avoid security personnel.

Tigor Situmorang, his deputy, Comr. Gatot Budiwiono, and nine other officers were questioned by South Sulawesi Police detectives over the deadly shooting.

It is not clear whether the 11 officers have been named suspects in the case, but South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Jusuf Manggabarani said detectives found indications of procedural violations as Tigor and Gatot did not brief their officers before deploying them to quell the protest.

Billah said his team was seeking to question the 11 police officers allegedly involved in the shooting.

However, he said it would likely be difficult for Komnas HAM to get access to the officers because the case was still ongoing.

Billah said the team's findings would be discussed at a plenary session of Komnas HAM, and recommendations would be made on how to proceed.

After the protest, the Bulukumba Police arrested at least 29 people.

The suspects included several non-governmental organization activists and a member of the Bulukumba Elections Commission, Iwan Salassa.

Tigor said his office was searching for 26 more suspects for their alleged roles in the unrest.