My country has
been experiencing many human rights violation, and the most recent is the
tension about some religious group trying to deny the rights of other groups to
exercise their constitutional freedom to worship and embrace any religion. But
I decide to post this story which is closer to my hometown. In this area (
http://goo.gl/maps/erI6f ) people has operated their "tambang emas
rakyat" or people's gold mine for years, but it is hard to get permission
to professionally and legally own and exploit the land. So for many years
people there has been operating under this quasi-legal system, without full
recognition of their legality of ownership by government. This year, government
decided to gave permit to a corporation, PT. Sumber Energi Jaya, backed by
investors from China (and rumor has it that it was partially owned by one high
local official) for exploitation of the gold deposit on that area. People then
stood up to demonstrate against this plan and it was turned violent. Police
used active bullet to stop the demonstrator. My friend is the leader of the
demonstrator and the corporation sponsored crowd orchestrated their own
demonstration in support of this “investor” and they burn his picture (http://www.mongabay.co.id/2012/05/27/tolak-tambang-emas-minahasa-dua-tertembak/
) (second picture, my friend’s name is
Iswadi Sual, as you can see his picture is being burned). At the end of May
this Year, the minor conflict between people against police took place (again)
and police open fire, and one the bullet misfired and hit two on their leg and a
peasant; Franky Aringking, who just went back home with his cow, and hit him on
his head. He was then rushed to the hospital and police official admitted him
to hospital and guarantee for a surgery. His life was saved but now the left
part of his body is permanently paralyzed and cannot be moved. I visited him yesterday
(August 13, 2012) and shocked with the information that he can’t go home yet
since police hasn’t paid his hospital bill, and he is waiting for it. Sadly no
media report about it. I attached his picture, and wonder if it is a great idea
to do a charity program to raise money to help him. You can still see the scars
of the bullet passing through the right part of his head caused his left body
can’t be moved.
This kind of event is
not the first time in Indonesia, and certainly will not be the last if my
country doesn’t change the direction, you can read in this link (http://www.npr.org/2011/11/16/142346962/in-indonesia-anger-against-mining-giant-grows
and http://325.nostate.net/?p=3773
you can google to find more terrifying stories ). Sadly many people blame that
this is the result of capitalism, and ask everyone to return the holy creed of
our constitution article 33, verse 3: “The
land, the waters and the natural resources within shall be under the powers of
the State and shall be used to the greatest benefit of the people.” My friend,
Iswadi, even take more radical step and
join the leftist student movement and turn more radical in his socialistic view.
I have been debating him ever since. What they don’t realize that this is
actually the direct result of that particular sentence in our constitution,
that government should have the right over property of the people. We give them
the power to regulate economy so they can look after us, while blindly assume
that they have to be for the people. Yet the history has thought us again and
again, that when we give government power to overseen something, it will give
them more temptation to corrupt. The only solution is we take that power back
and return the power to the people by granting them their property right for
the land they deserve, for the land they have taken care for years. Without
this, Franky Aringking would never be the last victims. I am looking for fund
to make a documentary about this to shed the light of this problem to
Indonesian public and to show them why my country has been in the wrong
direction for so many time and what we can do to change it.
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