Jayapura, Jubi – The involvement of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the food estate program initiated by the government last year was feared to enable potential human rights violations, Rights NGO Imparsial director Gufron Mabruri said in an online discussion on Wednesday, October 13, 2021.
“Military deployment will be followed by the act of securing land grabbing, for example. There is the potential for human rights violations to occur, especially if the community resists and confronts the security forces,” said Mabruri.
Such potential for human rights violations, Mabruri said, was confirmed by the absence of an accountable mechanism. To date, the TNI has its own military court to prosecute members suspected of committing crimes. The military court is closed to the public and therefore, in many cases, it is seen as a shield for impunity.
Mabruri further warned that the stigma of Papuans as separatists should be taken into consideration when putting the national soldiers in civil programs. “Moreover, armed groups in Papua are now labeled as terrorist organizations. This will make things escalate quickly when there is a conflict between the TNI and the community,” he said.
He suggested President Joko Widodo and the House of Representatives evaluate all military engagement practices in various sectors because it would weaken civil institutions.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) researcher M. Haripin also said that the involvement of the military in the food estate project was very problematic, as seen in past involvement.
“Some might think that this is too presumptuous because the military situation has changed. However, for me even now, the military is still very problematic and we cannot put aside our past history and our present concerns,” Haripin said.
Indeed, ever since it was launched last year until now, the food estate program has received a lot of criticism, especially with the involvement of the military in its implementation.
“There is the risk of creating ‘khaki capital’, or the political economy of the military, in the TNI-supported food estate. Corporations earn profits while soldiers ensure that everything goes according to plan,” he said. (*)
Reporter: Arjuna Pademme
Editor: Edho Sinaga
Gresik – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo leads the groundbreaking for the construction of PT Freeport Indonesia’s copper smelter in Gresik Regency, East Java. The smelter is designed to have a copper concentrate processing capacity of 1.7 million tons per year.
“I heard it is the largest single-line copper processing site in the world, as it is capable to process and refine 1.7 million tons of copper concentrate per year,” Jokowi said during the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, October 12, 2021.
Indonesia is among the seven countries with the largest copper reserves in the world. Such potential of natural resources, Jokowi said, must be optimally utilized by creating added value to it. “It’s for the welfare of the community,” he said.
Therefore, the President keeps pushing for the development of downstream mining industries. So that Indonesia would earn more money from its mineral wealth, not only from raw natural resources, Jokowi said.
“Don’t stop at owning the mines and the ores while the smelters are in other countries. As Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs [Airlangga Hartarto] said, there are smelters in Spain, in Japan, those countries are the ones who enjoy the added value,” he said.
Jokowi said the government wanted every mining company to develop downstream industries in the country. He said it would reduce exports of raw natural resources and provide economic multiplier effects, as well as increasing state revenue.
“I will order every company, both private and state-owned enterprises related to mineral and coal mining, to do downstream industry so that the commodities have higher value, we don’t ship them raw,” said Jokowi.
Further, he stated that the construction of the Freeport smelter was a strategic policy taken after the government had controlled 51 percent of the mining giant’s shares. “Once again, we want the added value to be here in Indonesia,” the President said.
Also present at the groundbreaking ceremony were Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif, and Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. (Advertorial/*)
"We are optimistic that the issue of extreme poverty afflicting the five priority districts would be resolved by the end of 2021. Despite having designated five priority districts, it does not mean that other districts are safe from extreme poverty," Amin stated while presiding over the coordination meeting at the West Papua Governor's Office, Manokwari, on Thursday.
The five districts prioritized for the extreme poverty eradication program are Teluk Wondama, Teluk Bintuni, Tambraw, Maybrat, and South Manokwari , with the number of residents classified to fall in the extreme poverty category totaling 39,357 people from 12,440 households, he noted.
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The extreme poverty eradication program in Teluk Wondama District targets 7,960 residents; 13,760 residents in Teluk Bintuni District; 3,140 residents in Tambraw District; 9,520 targeted residents in Maybrat District; and 5,150 residents in South Manokwari District.
To achieve zero cases of extreme poverty in the districts, the central government had allocated extra cash benefits that the regional government should properly utilize to handle cases of extreme poverty, Amin noted.
"This is because we have less than three months for 2022, and the government has decided to allocate additional cash benefits through basic needs and the village's direct cash assistance programs for the priority districts," the vice president stated.
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Amin also reiterated the necessity to ensure that all targeted residents would receive the benefits during the meeting.
"We should exert our efforts to synergize and converge existing potentials to achieve our target and ensure the benefits would reach those who needed it most," Amin remarked.
Apart from West Papua's five districts, another 30 districts in West Java, Central Java, East Java, Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, and Papua will also receive social benefits under this year's extreme poverty alleviation program.
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