TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indigenous People's Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) has urged President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to immediately form a task force that will create a framework to recognize, protect and restore indigenous people's rights. "We are waiting for President Jokowi's breakthrough in solving indigenous people's problems," said AMAN secretary-general Abdon Nababan on Tuesday, March 10, 2015.
During the presidential election last year, AMAN supported Jokowi and called for all indigenous people to vote for Jokowi. Abdon claimed that AMAN gathered 12 million votes to lead Jokowi to victory and now they are waiting for Jokowi to develop Indonesia starting from its outlying areas, including fulfilling the rights of indigenous people as stipulated in the Nawacita (Jokowi's development agenda).
According to Abdon, the establishment of the task force will prove that Jokowi is making efforts to reconcile the state and indigenous people because the previous government often evicted indigenous people for the sake of development. "Jokowi's administration must not make the same mistake," he said.
The demand came as the government is yet to follow up a Constitutional Court ruling rendered on May 2013 that states forests in indigenous people areas are no longer categorized as state forests.
AHMAD NURHASIM