Rights team verifies abuses in Bulukumba

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.