Benediktus Beng Lui
Sources
On 27 February 2021, three indigenous leaders of the Dayak Modang Long Wai Indigenous community in Indonesia were reportedly forcibly picked up by the East Kutai Police. The three leaders are the Indigenous Chief of the Modang Long Wai Dayak Community Daud Luwing, the Indigenous Secretary Benediktus Beng Lui, and the East Kalimantan Regional Customary Council Elisason. Parish Priest of St. Paul Long Bentuq Herri Kiswanto Sitohang and another four community leaders were also questioned by the police. This police action followed a peaceful community protest against the oil palm plantation of PT Subur Abadi Wana Agung, a subsidiary of the Tri Putra Group, on 30 January 2021. These indigenous peoples refused to convert their area and forest into oil palm plantations. According to human rights groups, the arrest was in retaliation for the closure of the access road, which halted palm oil distribution. PT Subur Abadi Wana Agung (SAWA) said it had fulfilled all its rights and obligations by providing compensation for all the land in question as well as offering partnership cooperation, but the residents refused to accept it.