Police are suspected of carrying out arbitrary arrests of farmers in Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi. Walhi Sultra considers this arrest to be criminalization.

A group of plainclothes police arrested Ande bin Tokoano or often known as Nderi, a resident of Sandey Village, Angata District, South Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi, early Monday morning (27/11/2023). At that time, after dancing Malulo in a traditional event, the crowd of Sandey residents began to disperse and the village began to become quiet. Suddenly a group of people in plain clothes claiming to be police forced Nderi to come with them.

Initially, some of the remaining residents suspected that the act was kidnapping. But one of them shouted that they were the police.

"The arrest was flawed because the police did not show identification and did not show an arrest warrant," said Regional Executive Director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Southeast Sulawesi, Andi Rahman, when contacted by telephone.

Andi admitted that the information he received stated that Nderi's wife had only been sent a letter the next day. In the letter, Nderi was suspected of setting fire to land belonging to PT Marketindo Selaras (MS) and was charged under Article 187 Paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code jo. Article 55 Paragraph (1) 1 of the Criminal Code carries a threat of 12 years in prison.

According to Andi, the police's actions were an attempt at criminalization. A total of 8 villages in Angata District, including Sandey, he said, were in conflict with PT MS. For more than 20 years, residents have proven their control of the land, marked by community activities in land management in the form of plantations and plants that provide a livelihood for the community, such as sago, cashew nuts, white teak and secondary crops as a form of local life that needs to be preserved.

In accordance with PP Number 24 of 1997 Article 24 paragraph (2), community land control over cultivated land for more than 20 years is the basis for the Angata community to have legal land control. Meanwhile, PT MS claims 1,300 hectares of land.

"The Konsel Police have clearly criminalized Angata farmers with Article 187 paragraph 1 juncto, Article 55 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code which was carried out haphazardly and with legal procedural flaws in carrying out the arrest and handing over the detention to the Southeast Sulawesi Regional Police," he stressed.

Andi revealed that since 2002, 1,300 hectares of cultivated land was previously cultivated by PT Sumber Madu Bukari (SMB), but it was never legally valid. Likewise, the transfer of company power to PT MS in 2019 was also legally and procedurally flawed.

The Jakarta Commercial Court (PN) Judge's Determination No. 33/Pailit/2003/PN.Niaga/JKT PST dated February 20 2004 stated that the assets owned by PT SMB, namely the sugar factory covering an area of 66.24 hectares including mess, vehicles, land released in the Forest area of 12,600 hectares, which includes 1,300 hectares of plotting land located in the villages of Motaha, Puao, Teteasa, Lamooso and Sandarsi Jaya. "However, in the asset attachment, the 1,300 plotting land is not part of PT SMB's assets," he said.