Convocamos grupos, organizações e movimentos a apoiar esta carta em solidariedade aos agricultores que estão defendendo seu território contra as tentativas da empresa Wilmar International de transformar seus campos de arroz em plantações industriais de dendê.
Prezadas amigas e amigos,
Desde 4 de outubro, os agricultores da comunidade de Nagari Kapa, em Sumatra Ocidental, Indonésia, estão enfrentando violentos ataques e prisões da polícia. Seu “crime”: defender seu território e dignidade contra as tentativas da empresa PT PHP I, uma subsidiária da transnacional Wilmar International, de transformar os campos de arroz da comunidade em plantações industriais de dendê.
Com a carta pública urgente abaixo, expressamos nossa solidariedade à comunidade de Nagari Kapa. A carta apela às instituições do governo indonésio e a polícia indonésia para que impeçam quaisquer novas agressões e violência contra os agricultores de Nagari Kapa e acelerem o processo de reforma agrária em andamento.
Por favor, assine a carta preenchendo o formulário. Prazo final: 14 de outubro.
Saudações,
Secretaria Internacional do WRM
Open Letter in solidarity with farmers of the Nagari Kapa community, West Sumatra, Indonesia.
To:
Head, Indonesia National Police (KAPOLRI)
Head, West Sumatra Regional Police (Kapolda Sumatra Barat)
Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning
Governor of West Sumatra Province
Head, Pasaman Barat Subprovincial District
National Police Commission
National Commission of Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM)
National Commission on Violence against Women (KOMNAS Perempuan)
09 October, 2024
Since 4 October, the farmers of Nagari Kapa community in West Sumatra, Indonesia, have been facing violent police attacks and arrests. Their ´crime´: defending their territory and dignity against the attempts of PT PHP I, a subsidiary of the transnational Wilmar International company, to turn the rice fields of the community into industrial oil palm plantations. Through this public letter, the undersigned organisations express their solidarity with the Nagari Kapa community. We urgently call on Indonesian government institutions and the Indonesian Police to prevent any further aggression and violence against the farmers of Nagari Kapa, and to accelerate the ongoing agrarian reform process.
The agrarian conflict between the people of Nagari Kapa, West Pasaman regency in West Sumatra, and the palm oil company PT Permata Hijau Pasaman (PHP), a subsidiary of Wilmar, has been going on for a long time and is now heating up again.
On 4 October, 2024, PHP 1 entered the farmland of Nagari Kapa to plant oil palm. To provide security, the Company managed to mobilise around150 police and military police forces (Mobile Brigade/Brimob). On that same day, the community organized a peaceful sit-in protest to defend its farmland and clashed with the police forces. The West Sumatra Police arrested nine farmers from Nagari Kapa, including 6 women. In the evening the police released the farmers but, on 7 October, they arrested again five farmers and released them again on 8 October. The 6 women and 8 men who were arrested these days have been injured, due to police aggression. Most of them were beaten. A young woman was harassed by the police.
Since October 5, PT PHP 1 has been rapidly destroying people's crops and carrying out oil palm tree planting in day time and during the night.
The action of PT PHP 1 to force access to the land designated as priority site for the agrarian reform program with the protection of the West Sumatra Police units is a gross violation of farmers rights and the implementation of the agrarian reform program by the Government´s Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning.
To prevent further perpetration of violent maltreatment of the Nagari Kapa people and to ensure the acceleration of the ongoing agrarian reform process, we demand the following:
1. The Head of National Police and the Head of West Sumatra Police must refrain from such a brutal provocation contradicting their role in the ongoing agrarian reform process; stop violence and criminalization now against the people; and pull back all police personnel from conflict land immediately.
2. The farmers arrested respectively on 4 and 7 October were extra-legally and violently "kidnapped" while in peaceful sit-in protest at the disputed land, transported to the Regional Police Headquarters in Padang for interrogation (witness "interview"), and then released. All that is done while the Police had received the notification for action, sent by LBH Padang on October 6, 2024 (see the "Background information" here), the only police requirement for such an action. The Head of West Sumatra Police must investigate the violent maltreatment by police personnel including female police officers to the farmers, including dragging, face hitting and sexual harassment.
3. The Head of West Sumatra Police cq. Head of West Pasaman Police Resort must take measures to re-plant the trees and planted crops being bulldozed since 4 October, 2024, till now, as well as ensuring that the people can continue using the land while the agrarian reform process for the conflict land is carried out, in their mandated duty to facilitate such a process.
4. The Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning must take action and provide an executive order for the Head of the National Police, Head of West Sumatra Police and Head of West Pasaman Police Resort to facilitate the Nagari Kapa farmers in continuing their farming activities while participating in the agrarian reform process.
5. The Governor of West Sumatra Province must take action to make sure that the Subprovincial District (Kabupaten) Government in its capacity as party to the agrarian reform process prevents PT PHP 1 from destroying Nagari Kapa farmers' crops and from carrying out oil palm tree planting.
6. We appeal to the National Commission of Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM) and the National Commission on Violence against Women (KOMNAS Perempuan) to meet the Nagari Kapa farmers and conduct an investigation on the presence and action of ± 150 police personnel to protect PT Permata Hijau Pasaman I (PHP I), a subsidiary of Wilmar International forced-access to the conflict land designated as agrarian reform object (TORA)
Signatories of this letter:
World Rainforest Movement (WRM)