Chronology and Statement from PPLP Kulon Progo
About the kidnapping of Tukidjo by the Kulon Progo Regional Police
PT JMI’s iron ore mining plans claim a victim again: Tukidjo.
Sunday, 1 May 2011 at 11.00 in the morning : 9 police officers arrived via a single car from the direction of PT JMI’s Pilot Project heading to Tukidjo’s farm in Gupit village in Kulon Progo. Three of them then exited the car and approached Tukidjo, who was taking a break from working on the farm. The police then said that the Head of the Kulon Progo Police Intelligence Force was waiting inside the car, and wanted to speak with him. The police said; “We only want to ask for information”. Out of curiosity and innocence, Tukidjo followed them to the car. When he was standing beside the car he was forced to get in, afterwards the windows were rolled up, and the car quickly sped away from the farm.
Tukidjo asked one of the police officers where they were taking him, the police responded that it was up to the Commandant. When the car was passing Trisik (the village next to Gubit), they showed him an arrest letter with his name on it, charging him with: 1) taking over people’s freedom, and 2) unpleasant activity. Several things that Tukidjo asked were 1) why there was an arrest letter for him as a suspect without any notification to appear as a witness in an investigation, according to the law, there must be a call for investigation, and an arrest letter is only issued after failure to appear two times or more. 2) why they were not heading to Kulon Progo Regional Police Headquarters. Every question that Tukidjo asked was answered with the response that those things are technically up to the Commandant. Trapped inside the car, guarded by 9 police officers, Tukidjo felt confused and unable to do anything, even to ask for an explanation or give any news to his family. About 15 minutes after Tukidjo was put inside the Police car, Tukidjo’s wife noticed he was missing and began to worry why her husband was not on the farm field. Where he had been resting previously there was only his sandals that he wore to work on the farm. She looked around the other fields, but because she couldn’t find him anywhere she went home and asked relatives whether they knew where her husband was, but of course no one knew. Then one of Tukidjo’s relative contacted him via cell phone, and when the relative spoke to Tukidjo, he said that he was being taken to Regional Police Office of Jogjakarta Special Region, and was to arrive there in 15 minutes.
The news of his kidnapping soon spread throughout the Kulon Progo seashore community, but they were still confused on what charge Tukidjo was being arrested on with that kind of trickery. One of the PPLP members who contacted Tukidjo found out that after he arrived in the Regional Police Office of Jogjakarta he immediately was investigated. At 13.00 all the PPLP members and Kulon Progo people gathered in Tukidjo relative’s house and waited for any development on information from Jogja, whether directly from Tukidjo or from the law firm which were contacted at 12.00, or any sympathizer who met him at the Jogjakarta Police Headquarters. The kidnapping began at 11.00 in the morning, the information was gathered at 13.00, and at 14.00 Tukidjo’s wife sent him clothes because when he was kidnapped, Tukidjo was not in decent clothes and not wearing shoes. She could only send it via courier with her greetings because she was not allowed to join him at the Headquarters. When the courier arrived at the Headquarters, the Police asked him to take the arrest letter with him, but the courier refused and said that it was not their duty as a civilian.
Even though the Police tried to continue with the legal process, PPLP still objected to the Police using deception to arrest Tukidjo, without any notification for him before the arrest nor to the family afterwards.
This arrest is a violation of the Law No 18 Year 1981. Article 17 states that: “The order of arresting done to someone who is suspected of doing a criminal act, based on enough evidence.” Until this chronology is written down, there’s not any clear evidence from the police to justify their sudden arrest of Tukidjo.
Article 18 (1) states: The proper procedure of arrest is as follows. The Indonesian Republic state police officer shows the duty letter and gives the suspect an arrest letter which states the identity of the suspect, and mentions the reason for arrest and describes briefly the criminal issue which he is suspected of, and also states the place where he was suspected of committing the crime.
It’s clear that when the Police were arresting Tukidjo they were violating article 18 (1); with not showing their duty letter to Tukidjo.
The Police didn’t even state their actual intent to Tukidjo and in fact, misled him by saying that they only want to have a talk, and to let him meet with the Head of Intelligence Force inside the car. After Tukidjo started to suspect something when the car was speeding away, and he asked what was their true intention, the police only said: “You will know why later anyway.” They finally showed him the arrest letter only after Tukidjo kept insisting on an answer, which occured after they seized him and held him in the vehicle. All of this happened very suddenly and it made Tukidjo react personally confused and panicked. In this panicked state Tukidjo was terrorized psychologically, moreover because he was guarded by 9 police officers, who even though remained quiet, they dominated the situation inside the car just like any kind of planned kidnapping models towards an innocent peasant. In the situation of physical domination and shocked by the sudden terror done by the police officers for their one sided interest and purpose, they became the ones who took over Tukidjo’s personal freedom and committed a violation of Human Rights towards him.
Article 18 (3) states: A copy of an arrest letter as mentioned in paragraph (1) has to be given to the family after the arrest is done.
A notification letter as mentioned in paragraph (3) was not given at all to the family until this chronology is done. This didn’t show any good intention from the police and clearly violated their own law. This attitude only clarifies their arrogance and planned intentions to kidnap Tukidjo and is fair to be suspected as an organized kidnapping ordered by certain people, because Tukidjo is a peasant who struggled very hard against the Iron Ore Mining Project on the land of Kulon Progo Seashore Peasant.
We condemn this Police arrogance and those who arrested Tukidjo with an organized kidnapping method, trapping him inside the car, domination by the amount of Police officers and psychological terror from the sudden arrest letter, and neglecting Tukidjo’s family without any ethics. All of these law violation methods were done by the Police only to put Tukidjo in jail as fast as they could, and make a marathon investigation afterwards, because it wasn’t easy to put evidence to their accusation.
Article 19 (1) states that: Arrest as mentioned in Article 17, can only be done for maximum one day.
If the arrest of Tukidjo is happening for more than 24 hours (counted since 11.00 in the morning, 1 may 2011), then the Police are supposed to let Tukidjo free, based on the law, because they didn’t have strong evidence for their accusation.
Based on their method of arrest, and the fact that they still don’t have any evidence (even as this chronology’s finished, Tukidjo’s still being investigated) Tukidjo, a peasant from Kulon Progo Seashore Community has to be LET FREE now.
If the accusation from PT JMI towards Tukidjo was linked up with the verbal social warning done by some Kulon Progo people to several workers of PT JMI, who had crossed the social law which has been agreed beforehand (wandering around the community houses); then the accusation of Tukidjo have took hostage, then it is absolutely wrong. Because there’s no act of taking over any workers of PT JMI. PT JMI itself is the one who keeps taking over the seashore peasants’ freedom with all of their efforts to criminalize the peasants and continuing their iron ore mining project.
Kulon Progo, 2 May 2011, 09.00 in the morning
Kulon Progo Seashore Peasant Collective
(Paguyuban Petani Lahan Pantai Kulon Progo/PPLP KP)
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