Absolution of Sin for the Forest Demolishers
Translator
Editor
22 May 2024 22:20 WIB
The goal of the Ministry of Agriculture's ISPO policy is to make the palm oil sector more competitive while protecting the environment. It is evidently against the spirit of ISPO for there to be oil palm land in forest areas, particularly at conservations and protected forests.
RSPO and ISPO.
Conflicts with indigenous people in the area are common for PT Hamparan Masawit Bangun Persada (PT HMBP), another subsidiary of Best Agro International. One such instance is the dispute with the Dayak community in Peyang Village, East Kotawaringin Regency, Central Kalimantan. It is suspected that this corporation has taken community land outside of the HGU (right to cultivate) area for oil palm plantations.
In 2020, PT HMBP reported multiple local residents to the police. It was known that these individuals had doubted the legitimacy of the company's oil palm land. PT HMBP then accused them of pilfering oil palm fruit bunches. Three Peyang Village inhabitants, Dilik Bin Asap, Hermanus Bin Bison, and James Watt, were arrested by East Kotawaringin Police in February 2020. Hermanus died of illness while being detained awaiting trial.
The persecution of those who disagree with PT HMBP has prompted protests from various environmental and human rights conservation institutions. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has also sent a letter of inquiry into the issue.
In October 2023, the local villagers and PT HMBP clashed once more. This time, the company refused to give a plasma plantation that a number of locals from Bangkal Village, Seruyan Regency, Central Kalimantan had requested. Numerous persons were hurt as a result of the locals' actions, which led to altercations with police personnel. One person died and two residents were hit by live rounds.
The Central Kalimantan Regional Police and PT HMBP were then subject to customary fines from the Central Kalimantan Dayak Traditional Council. This customary fine does not absolve the shooter of their criminal responsibility. The police officer who is suspected of being involved in the shooting is currently being sued in court.
H Rizky R Badjuri, the head of the Central Kalimantan Province Plantation Service, acknowledged that palm oil companies had intruded into several forest areas. In reality, Central Kalimantan is currently on the government's list of priority regions for the pardoning of oil palm plantations located in forest areas.
When Tempo visited Rizky at his office on December 22, 2023, he stated, "The total area of oil palm land in Central Kalimantan is around 1.3 million hectares, some of which is in forest areas." However, he said that he was unsure of the exact area of the oil palm plantation in the Central Kalimantan forest region where the request for a forest area release permit had been made.
