Aulia Andri/Swastika & Ari P, Medan – The abduction of four activists from the Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA) while protesting outside the General Assembly in early August remains a tug of war between the Jakarta City Police and the KPA, with the KPA believing that the abduction was committed by police officers.

KPA Secretary General, Ervan Fariadi, told reporters after delivering a session at a national seminar on land conflict resolution held at the Sumatera Utara University (USU) complex in Medan, North Sumatra on Tuesday.

Ervan said it is extremely odd that the Jakarta City Police summoned the four victims of abduction, since it was the police who abducted them. "They [the four activists] are victims. But now they are being treated as if they were suspects. It was the Jakarta City Police who abducted them," said Ervan.

He added that the KPA had submitted a report with the National Police Headquarters in an attempt to solve this case. The KPA will also continue to apply pressure until this case is resolved. The four activists are currently under protection by the Commission for Disapperances and Missing persons (Kontras) and the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).

Ervan also consideres the House of Representatives (DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) partly responsible for the abduction. "They were abducted in the ground of the House building. As the Speaker of the Assembly, Amien Rais is supposed to be responsible [for this abduction]," Ervan said.

The four activists disappeared after being evacuated by police officers after staging a 6-hour hunger strike in front of the House of Representatives building, during the Annual Assembly Session earlier last month. The activists were demanding that agrarian reforms be included in the Assembly's meeting agenda. They were eventually returned to Jakarta on Sunday after going missing for two weeks.