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Dayak People displaced by Presidential Decree at Australian owned Aurora Gold mine
Dayak People displaced by Presidential Decree at Australian owned Aurora Gold mine
The struggle of the Dayak Siang, Murung, and Bekumpai indigenous people to reclaim their rights stolen by PT Indo Muro Kencana (Aurora Gold), an Australian gold mining company operating since 1987, has been confronted with further human rights violations. The perpetrators of these particular violations are military and local government officials of North Barito District who have implemented the Presidential Decree No. 3/2000 on the subject of Illegal Miners Resolution not in the way it was intended rather they have taken advantage of the Decree for their own interest.
The misinterpretation of the Decree was carried out by the Joint Team on Illegal Miners Resolution whose coordination resides with the Minister of Mining and Energy—as regulated in the Decree.
As a result, the Dayak Siang, Murung, and Bekumpai indigenous people who have just been traumatized by the arbitrary arrest of their people carried out by the BRIMOB troops (Mobile Brigade) under the instructions of the North Barito District Head in March 2000, had to experience further gross human rights violations.
Yesterday, June 7 2000, the North Barito Police Department together with its BRIMOB (Mobile Brigade) troops and backed by North Barito local government officials (Pemerintah Daerah Tingkat II North Barito), and community members suspected to be recruited by PT Indo Muro Kencana, have forcefully evicted and destroyed several traditional mining settlements in the Tengkanong and Permata village, Permata Intan Subdistrict, North Barito District, Central Kalimantan.
The eviction began at 04.00 WIB (morning—local time) when the community were still tucked away in their own beds. The written report submitted to JATAM and WALHI stated that the police officials commenced their attack by marching down to the settlement and yelling military jargon eerily echoing the sounds of basic combat training. The loud noise woke the villagers up who were instantly frightened out of their wits. Then, the troops who were armed with long range shot guns started banging on each of the villagers’ doors while yelling orders that the inhabitants were to get out, immediately. Then, the village women and children were separated from the men and those who dared to display any sign of resistance were instantly put under gunpoint and handcuffed.
After driving out the inhabitants, the troops started to throw out the villagers’ belongings. Some villagers managed to save their things while others helplessly watched the little they had left of their livelihoods, since PT Indo Muro Kencana came to their village, be scattered on the ground. In the middle of the dark, the community were shoved into several trucks and driven out of the settlement. Some of them were dropped off in the middle of nowhere while the rest were taken to Mangkahui village and then to North Barito Resort Police Headquarters by speedboats, suspected to be of IMK ownership.
All the while, the remaining troops on the settlement were destroying the villagers’ houses with the use of crowbars and sledgehammers. In fact, some reports mentioned that IMK’s heavy machinery was used to demolish the entire settlements. The villagers were severely devastated and frightened for their lives that some of them who managed to escape, fled into the woods or evacuated themselves to nearby villages.
15 community members still remained under the North Barito Resort Police detention for unclear charges, and they are: Rusmiati (female), and Otong, Untu, Aper, Isik, Ubang, Igi, Ganyang, Dewan, Mumpung, Somo, Damai, Lukciai, Hadi and Ua (males). The 15 villagers were victims of the misinterpretation and misimplementation of the Presidential Decree No. 3/2000. The fundamental mistakes of the implementation of the Decree are:
1. The indigenous people of Dayak Siang, Murung, and Bekumpai victimized by the arrest incident on Wednesday, June 7 2000, cannot be categorized into the illegal miners category such as stated in the Presidential Decree No.3/2000
2. The Dayak Siang, Murung, and Bekumpai indigenous people are traditional miners’ who have been conducting small-scale, traditional mining activities in the area for generations. They are actually victims of forced displacements by the military that occurred in 1987 and up to 1991--when PT Indo Muro Kencana began their operations in the area.
3. The re-occupation of PT IMK mine locations by the Dayak Siang, Murung, and Bekumpai indigenous people is the peoples’ expression of anger against IMK for taking over the peoples’ indigenous lands and traditional mining locations and also against the local government for continuing to act in the best interests of IMK instead of the peoples’.
4. The Joint Team on Illegal Miners Resolution disregard the third diktum of the Presidential Decree No. 3 year 2000 which obliged them to:
“a. respect the indigenous rights and interests of the local people according to existing regulations;
b. work towards peoples’ awareness and civil obedience in conducting business activities including legitimate mining activities in compliance with existing regulations; c. take into account natural resource allocation for local community…”
The indigenous people of Dayak Siang, Murung, and Bekumpai have been severely impacted since PT. Indo Muro Kencana/Aurora Gold began its operations in the area. All of their efforts to demand PT IMK accountability for justice and past human rights violations have been entirely ignored. We need to support the community in their continuous struggle to reclaim what the government and mining company have taken away from their ancestral lands.
JATAM and WALHI are calling for your support to urge the government, especially the Minister of Mines and Energy and Head of Indonesia Police, to stop the arbitrary actions being taken against the indigenous people, struggling for basic human rights and their status as traditional miners, and to urge the mining company to be responsible for past human rights violations and the invasion of indigenous lands and mine locations currently labeled as their Contract of Work area. You can support and contribute to the struggle by sending protest letters to the addresses below.
We have provided a draft of the protest letter which you are most welcome to use. Please be kind enough to send us a copy of your protest letters.
For your support and attention, we sincerely thank you.
Warm regards,
Helvi Lystiani (JATAM)
Sri Indah Wibinastiti (WALHI)
For more information, please contact:
Igor O'Neill
Workphone: +62 21 794 1672
Mobile: +62 81 286 12 286
Created: 08 Jun 2008 | Last updated: 08 Jun 2000
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