Khairul Saleh, Palembang – Residents of Rengas subdistrict, Ogan Ilir regency, reported Monday the regency police's Mobile Brigade Unit's (Brimob) Friday attack to the South Sumatra provincial police's internal affairs division (Propam).

They were accompanied by the joint advocacy team, which comprised representatives from the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Palembang, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment's (Walhi) South Sumatra chapter and the legal aid post of the Association of Indonesian Advocates' (Ikadin) South Sumatra chapter.

"We have the right to question why the police interfered, especially as the case was handled by the civil court," said Taslim from LBH Palembang, adding they would file the report to the National Police Headquarters, the Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and the National Police Commission.

Taslim said the Brimob's actions were regrettable and could be categorized as violations against the procedure to use guns.

"Our findings in the field reveal that they directly shot at the residents. Shots were also coming from the sugarcane plantation where the Brimob were hiding," he said, adding it was improper to say the people's acts had triggered the incident.

A member of the Komnas HAM, Nurcholish, confirmed Monday that the commission had received the report via email and was waiting for the presence of the institution accompanying the residents for a direct report.

"From there we will decide on whether we need to go to the field for a follow-up," Nurcholish said.

Eleven villagers were wounded when members of the Ogan Ilir police's Brimob fired at them in an attempt to disperse a riot on Friday at the state plantation company PTPN VII Cinta Manis ground, while three employees of the company sustained knife wounds.

The violence is reminiscent of an incident two months ago when around 1,500 Rengas villagers felled and burned sugarcane crops at the company's District 6 site in an effort to seize a 1,529-hectare plot they claimed as theirs.

The South Sumatra Police so far have questioned 19 people, including six Brimob members.

The police public relation division head Sr. Comr. Abdul Ghofur insisted the Brimob used no live bullets in the incident. He assured that the Brimob's actions were according to the prevailing procedures.

"Based on the dossier, they only used rubber bullets."