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INDONESIA: Police shoot to death two farmers in Pekanbaru

June 15, 2010

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-087-2010

15 June 2010
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INDONESIA: Police shoot to death two farmers in Pekanbaru

ISSUES: Right to life, extrajudicial killing, excessive use of force
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the shooting of Ms. Yusniar and Mr. Disman. The shooting was allegedly conducted by police officers from Kuansing Police Station and Mobile Brigadier (Brimob) Unit of Riau Police Station. Due to the shooting, both Ms. Yusniar and Mr. Disman died.

CASE NARRATIVE:

A group of villagers and farmers of Koto Cengar village held a protest against a palm company, Tribakti Sari Mas, Inc. (PT TBS) on 8 June, 2010. The protest was triggered by local farmers believing that the share of profits awarded to them by the palm company was not enough.

The protest turned into a clash between police and villagers which resulted in the death of Ms. Yusniar and Mr. Disman, two villagers involved in the protest. Ms. Yusniar was shot on her back and the bullet penetrated into her chest, while Mr. Disman was shot in the chest. Ms. Yuniar died instantly, while Mr. Disman died on his way to the hospital.

According to Public Relations Head of Riau Police Station, Adjutant Senior Commissioner (AKB) Zulkilfli, the police had to shoot Ms. Yusniar and Mr. Disman  because the villagers  supposedly "harvested the palm illegally, burnt a police car, and 30 houses of PT TBS". Head of Kuantan Singingi Police Station Adjutant Senior Commissioner RA Kasenda said that the villagers attacked the police first that, and in response, the police had no option but to shoot them. Police fired warning shots but they were ignored. He argued that there were about 500 villagers involved in the protest, most of whom were carrying sharp weapons, whereas there were only 200 police officers.

However, villagers and eyewitnesses told different story. According to eyewitness testimony, it was the police who started the clash first and provoked the villagers. 


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send your letter to authorities listed below calling for them intervention into this case. Urge the relevant authorities to investigate the case properly and punish the perpetrators according to law.

The AHRC writes a separate letter to UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions calling for his intervention into this case.

To suppor this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

INDONESIA: Police shoot to death two farmers in Pekanbaru

Name of victim: Ms. Yusniar and Mr. Disman
Names of alleged perpetrators: Police officers from Kuansing Police Station and Mobile Brigadier (Brimob) Unit of Riau Police Station
Date of incident: 8 June, 2010
Place of incident: Koto Cengar Village, Pekanbaru Riau, INDONESIA

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the death of Ms. Yusniar and Mr. Disman, two villagers of Koto Cengar Village, who were allegedly shot by police officers from Kuansing Police Station and Mobile Brigadier (Brimob) Unit of Riau Police Station. I am informed that both Ms. Yusniar and Mr. Disman werefarmers, who were involved in a protest against Tri Bakti Sari Mas, Inc. (PT TBS) on 8 June, 2010. They were shot to death when the protest turned into clash between police and villagers.

I seriously regret and condemn the use of excessive force on the part of the police which caused the death of civilians. Article 3 of Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials clearly states that 'law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty'. Furthermore, Principle 5 letter (a) and (b) of Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials mentions that even in condition when lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, the law enforcement shall exercise restraint in such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and the legitimate objective to be achieved as well as to ‘minimise damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life’.

Such provision is not only recognised in the international instruments I have mentioned but also in domestic regulations in Indonesia. The Regulation of the Chief of the Indonesian National Police Number 8/2009 has clearly emphasized that it is important for police officers to respect human rights in exercising their duties and obligations.

I would like to highlight that what has happened in this case is not only a violation of international standards and Indonesia domestic regulations,but worse, it is a violation of human rights, particularly the right to life of Ms. Yusniar and Mr. Disman. Article 28A and article 28I paragraph (1) of 1945 Constitution guarantees the right to life of every single person within Indonesia’s territory. Indonesia has also ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 2005 which recognised right to life as a right which cannot be derogated in any conditions.

Based on all of this fact, it is your obligation to ensure that the perpetrators who shot Ms. Yusniar and Mr. Disman will be punished according to law. The death of these both villagers alone was a failure of Indonesian government to protect their inhabitants’ life.  If this case vanishes, and the perpetrators go unpunished, this will prove yet another failure of the Indonesian government’s duty to protect and promote human rights.

I am looking forward to your swift actions.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Brig. Gen Pol. Adjie Rustam Ramdja
Head of Riau Police Station
Jl. Senepelan 10
Riau
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 761 20084
Fax: +62 761 31783

2. General Bambang Hendarso Danuri
Chief of Indonesian National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 721 8012
Fax: +62 21 720 7277
Email: polri@polri.go.id

3. Ms. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo
General Director of Human Rights
Department of Law and Human Rights Republic of Indonesia
Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav.6-7 Kuningan,
Jakarta 12940
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 525 3006, 525 3889, 526 4280
Fax: +62 21 525 3095

4. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President of Republic of Indonesia
Presidential Palace,
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara Jakarta Pusat 10010
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 384 5627, ext. 1003
Fax: +62 21 231 4138, 345 2685, 345 7782
Email: mallarangeng@yahoo.com


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia) 

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-087-2010
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.