[asia-apec 1541] AI - UA on Sosa Case

[North Sumatra Peasant Union]

PUBLIC    AI Index: ASA 21/38/00

EXTRA 71/00         Risk of torture/ill-treatment  1 September 2000

               Jalaluddin Harahap (32)
               Anwar Sadikin Hasibuan (21)
               Parno (37)
               Khoiruddin Nasution (24)
               Maranaga Hasibuan (28)
               Syaiful Tanjung (55)
               Hamiruddin Nasution (28)
               Gumri Hasibuan (31)
               Atar Pasaribu (45)
               Badoar Lubis (57)
               Goloman Hasibuan (31)
               Four others - names unknown


Amnesty International is concerned that 15 people in custody in North
Sumatra are at risk of torture or ill-treatment. Police have refused
them
medical treatment, although one has reportedly been injured by a rubber
bullet and others are said to have been injured by beatings with rattan
canes.

The 15 people were arrested on 27 August in connection with a land
dispute
between villagers belonging to the Sosa indigenous group and a
privately-owned plantation company. They are in custody at the Police
Resort (Polres) in Padang Sidempuan, the capital of Tapanuli Selatan
District.

On 24 August, villagers from Panyabungan village, in the Sosa
Sub-district
of Tapanuli Selatan District, had occupied land they said the plantation

company PT PHS (Permata Hijau Sawit) Mananti had taken from them. A
meeting
between the villagers and the company was arranged the following day,
but
when the villagers arrived at the PT PHS Mananti factory a group of
unidentified men tried to abduct villager Ali Sati.

When they heard about this, people from other nearby villages gathered
at
the factory. At around 5pm Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers
arrived
and opened fire on the crowd. Nineteen-year-old Pebriadi Nasution was
reportedly killed, and at least three others were injured, including
Atar
Pasaribu, who was hit by a rubber bullet.

On 27 August the police went into Panyabungan village and arrested 33
people suspected of involvement in the dispute. Lawyers managed to visit

the remaining 15 for the first time on 1 September, by which time they
had
already been interrogated. Police were present throughout the interviews

and the lawyers said the 15 were too frightened to talk openly. The
lawyers
are concerned that they may not be permitted to visit their clients
again.

A Sosa man from Pasir village, Sahrial Hasibuan, was arrested and beaten

when he went to the factory on 25 August after the attempted abduction
of
Ali Sati. He has since been released, but needed medical treatment for
head
injuries: he had been hit on the forehead with a rifle butt and beaten
on
the back of the head.

The police are now said to be looking for leaders of the People's Forum
for
Sosa Customary Law (Forum masyarakat adat Sosa - Formasa) and the North
Sumatra Peasants' Union (Serikat Petani Sumatra Utara - SPSU). Both
organizations are involved in supporting the rights of indigenous
people.
One of the leaders of Formasa is the Panyabungan village head, Nasruddin

Hasibuan. He has been missing since 28 August, when police ransacked his

house. He is thought to be in hiding.

The people of Panyabungan village are reported to have fled to the
forest
in the face of police intimidation.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Sosa are an indigenous people living in around 84 villages in the
Sub-district of Sosa. Like other indigenous peoples in Indonesia they
have
their own adat (customary law) system. According to the Sosa adat
system,
ancestral land cannot be sold.

The Sosa people are involved in disputes with both private and
state-owned
plantation companies which have taken over land in the area. In August
1998, a farmer was shot and killed during a dispute with a state owned
plantation company, PTPN IV in the Prinarik area of Sosa sub-district.
Approximately 23 people were arrested and sentenced to up to a year in
prison.

The Sosa people set up Formasa a year later, to campaign for the
recognition of their adat laws and traditions by the central government,

and assert their right to their ancestral lands.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send faxes/express/airmail letters in
English,
Bahasa Indonesia or your own language:
- seeking guarantees that the 15 detainees will not be tortured or
ill-treated in custody;
- urging the authorities to immediately allow them medical attention and

confidential access to their lawyers;
- urging the authorities to release all 15 if they are not to be charged

with a recognizably criminal offence;
- urging the authorities not to arrest anyone solely for exercising
their
right to the peaceful expression of their opinions and to peaceful
assembly
and association;
- calling for an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into
the
killing of Pebriadi Nasution.

APPEALS TO:

Head of Police for North Sumatra
Brigadier General Sutanto
Kapolda Sumatra Utara
Jalan Medan Tanjung Merawa
Medan, North Sumatra
Fax:      + 62 61 7879372
Salutation:    Dear Brigadier General

NATIONAL POLICE CHIEF
Gen. Rusdihardjo
Kapolri
Markas Besar Kepolisian RI
Jl. Trunojoyo 3
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia
Fax:      + 62 21 720 7277
Salutation:    Dear General Rusdihardjo

COPIES TO:

MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND SECURITY
Prof Dr Mahfud MD
Menteri Pertahanan dan Keamanan
Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No.13-14
Jakarta Pusat 10110
Indonesia
Fax:           + 62 21 381 4535/ 384 5178
Salutation:    Dear Minister

and to diplomatic representatives of Indonesia accredited to your
country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International
Secretariat,
or your section office, if sending appeals after 13 October 2000.

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Exposed by:
Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU)
Jl. Karya Jasa 58, Pangkalan Masyhur
Medan, North Sumatera
Indonesia 20143
Tel/Fax: +62 61 7862073
Email: putratan at indosat.net.id
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Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) is

the federation of peasant organization consists of 105 local peasant
organizations in
North Sumatera Province as its member.

SPSU is declared by the peasant of North Sumatera in Parsariran, South
Tapanuli District, North Sumatera
Province Indonesia on June 3 1994. SPSU is member of La Via Campesina
(International Peasant Movement) at International Leve.
SPSU is founder and member of Federasi Serikat Petani Indonesia/FSPI
(Federation of
Indonesian Peasant Union/FIPU). FSPI or FIPU declared on July 8th 1998
by several peasant organization of Indonesia.
SPSU has two main bodies : Peasant Representative Board as the
legislative body and The Peasant
Executive Body. Both of them are elected by Congress directly. In order
to implement its program  SPSU will set up the Special Task Force and
recruit the Consulates in local, regional, national, and international
level. Special task force and Consulates are the supporting system of
The Peasant Executive body consists of everyone and every institutions
who concern to the Agrarian Reform, Indigenous People, Sustainable
Agriculture, Democracy, and Peasant Movement.
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