Police Clash Vs Residents On Pulau Rempang, Director General Of Human Rights Asks To Prioritize Dialogue

JAKARTA - The Director General of Human Rights at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Dhana Putra regretted the clash between the police and residents in Rempang Batam due to the land clearing process some time ago.

Dhana emphasized that the Mayor of Batam, the Riau Police Chief, and relevant stakeholders need to build an in-depth dialogue to prioritize a sense of humanity for communities affected by land emptying.

"We can understand the spiritual atmosphere of the people affected by the clearing of land in Rempang today. Therefore, deep dialogue is important so that past events do not happen again," said Dhana in her statement, Monday, September 11.

Dhana emphasized that the application of human rights values in the business sector is important in global economic competition. This is because the implementation of human rights in business activities will have a positive impact on the image of the company.

"Of course we all don't want this good investment climate in Batam to get a negative image because of a problem like yesterday," he said.

It is known that the clash was triggered by the rejection of the indigenous peoples of Pulau Rempang on the development of industrial estates on island areas covering an area of 17 thousand hectares. The project, which was labeled with a national strategic project to build industrial, trade and tourism areas, is a National Strategic Project (PSN) in 2023 as Rempang Eco City.

Clashes occurred when a joint team tried to break through the community guarding the IV Barelang Bridge on Rempang Island because they refused to carry out measurements and install batok in the area.

The blocking was carried out by residents by burning a number of tires and tearing down trees on the access road to the Rempang area. Even so, officers still forced their way in to install stakes, and fired tear gas and water cannon to break up the riots.

As a result of gunfire from tear gas, elementary school students on Pulau Rempang shouted hysterically scared. Not only that, a number of SMPN 22 students who were 100 meters from the Trans Barelang Road section were also victims of the clashes.

The tear gas swab that was fired into the air by the authorities was carried to the school complex and made students and teachers almost faint, and some even fled to forest areas to avoid stuffy air due to tear gas.