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Lawyers called on to help 'criminalized' citizens

Jakarta Post - April 10, 2012

Severianus Endi, Pontianak – Efforts to provide people with legal assistance need to be stepped up in the wake of what many call the "gross criminalization" of communities by palm-oil companies.

"It is very important to add the number of pro-citizen lawyers to handle cases of the criminalization of traditional communities, especially because the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) and Criminal Code (KUHP) are discriminative in nature and have not accommodated customary laws," director of the Bela Banua Talino Institute (LBBT) legal resources center, Abdias Yas, said at a seminar on agricultural and forestry laws at Hotel Merpati, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Monday.

The seminar, organized by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and Sawit Watch, focused on strengthening the Constitutional Court's decision on agricultural and forestry laws in managing natural resources in West Kalimantan.

This is associated with the granting of a judicial review requested by the community in the court last September. The court's decision is considered as a form of recognition of traditional communities' access, control and living on land, negated by the state and capital owners.

Abdias said many KUHP articles have been exploited to implicate people defending their own rights, such as Article 335 on discontent action and Article 333 on seizing other people's freedom.

From 2008 to 2010, LBBT recorded that from the 196 palm-oil plantation permits issued in 10 regencies in West Kalimantan, 58 court cases were heard between companies and residents. That number only covered cases involving the LBBT.

Tanjungpura University Law School academic Hermansyah said the differences between state and customary laws have led to differing beliefs held by the government and traditional communities, particularly over rights and responsibilities.

"The customary community and their wisdom existed before the country was formed, so their recognition should not be symbolic in nature, but they should get legal protection over their rights," he said.