Mikael Ane stands in front of his house on a site claimed by the government as part of the Ruteng Natural Tourism Park. (Photo: Supplied)
Indonesia's top court has acquitted an indigenous Catholic farmer who was jailed for "encroaching" on a piece of land declared as a tourist park.
Fifty-seven-year-old Mikael Ane from the Ngkiong indigenous community in East Manggarai Regency in East Nusa Tenggara province was acquitted by the Supreme Court on May 8.
In the order, the top court observed that Anne “did not commit a crime” and therefore released him from all legal charges.
The decision was hailed as "progressive" by Maximilianus Herson Loi, Ane's attorney from the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago.
It gives "new strength to the struggle of indigenous people in Indonesia," he added.
Ane was arrested in March last year for building a house on a site claimed by the government as part of the Ruteng Natural Tourism Park, a 32,248-hectare mountainous rainforest area that straddles two districts in the western part of the Catholic-majority Flores Island.
The Ruteng District Court ignored Ane’s plea that his ancestors "lived in the forest area” before the Ruteng Natural Tourism Park was set up in 1991.
He was sentenced to one year and six months in prison in September. He was also required to pay a fine of 300 million rupiah (US$19,593) to get a commutation of six months in prison.
The ruling was upheld by the High Court in Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara province city in November.
Syamsul Alam Agus from the Association of Defenders of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago said that Indonesia lacks laws to protect the rights of indigenous people like Ane.
He mentioned the Indigenous Peoples Bill which has been pending with the national parliament since 2012.
In October last year, indigenous peoples advocacy groups filed a lawsuit with the State Administrative Court against the national parliament for having ignored the bill for so long.
“Because there is no law on the protection and recognition of indigenous peoples, they are vulnerable to criminalization," said Agus.
According to the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, 2,578,073 hectares of indigenous lands were confiscated for investment and business purposes in 2023,
The illegal land acquisition was accompanied by violence by the state which resulted in one death and left 204 people injured. Around 100 houses of indigenous people were destroyed by authorities for allegedly encroaching on forest lands.
