Thomson Ambarita - Sihaporas community
Fontes
Jonny and Thomson Ambarita are elder indigenous farmers from the Sihaporas community in Indonesia. On February 13, 2020 they were sentenced to nine months in jail for allegedly assaulting an employee of pulp and paper company PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL), an RGE affiliate company. The complaint had been filed by the company. The lawyer for Jonny and Thomson Ambarita called the guilty verdict unfair. Like other observers of the trial, he questioned why much of the evidence presented in court that corroborated the community’s account — including witness testimony and videos of the incident — was ignored. Indigenous and land rights activists have also criticized what they say was a flawed trial, and called for greater recognition by the Indonesian government of indigenous land rights. The two sides have been locked in dispute over the land in North Sumatra’s North Tapanuli district since 1992, with the Sihaporas indigenous community claiming ancestral rights to some 40,000 hectares (98,800 acres) inside the concession granted to PT TPL. Tribal elders are the latest members of the community to be jailed following charges brought by the company, which itself stands accused of an assault against the community. Authorities have not pursued the Sihaporas complaints against the company.