Father Steph Tupeng Witin was reported to the Nagekeo police office by Cosmas Jo Oko, a lawyer for Adjunct Commissioner of Police Servulus Tegu, on Oct. 21, alleging his article “damaged the reputation” of his client.
The Divine Word priest’s article titled “When Justice is Snatched by the Power of the Nagekeo Mafia” was published by Florespos.net on Oct. 20.
He wrote that Tegu, who was heading the Operations Division at Nagekeo Police, along with former police chief Yudha Pranata, were part of “a mafia network” involved in snatching lands of local villagers for the Lambo dam project.
He alleged that the two police officers pressured the villagers to hand over their land for the dam construction and accept the paltry compensation amounts fixed by the government.
Witin also accused the duo of “monopolizing the truth” and ensuring that local journalists did not report on the controversies surrounding the project.
“There are many local journalists who are part of a mafia group that routinely publishes the police’s version of events,” he wrote. “Many good and conscientious police officers in the Nagekeo Police are aware of these two individuals’ actions but choose to remain silent.”
Lawyer Oko said freedom of expression does not mean the freedom to accuse without evidence.
“The article directly named our client and was widely disseminated on social media,” he said, while adding that this was not mere criticism, “but rather an accusation that damages the reputation of our client.”
The lawyer stressed that no one is above the law, including opinion writers. “Everyone must be held responsible for what they write and disseminate,” he added.
Witin called the police report filed against him “an act of criminalization.”
“Shouldn’t writing be answered with writing? Why should writing be fought with the sword of the law, held in the hands of these mafia networks?” the priest asked.
He said there was no reason for him “to fear the terror of mafia gangs,” who he said were now “in extreme panic.”
The Lambo dam project was initiated by former president Joko Widodo. Construction of the 1.47 trillion rupiah ($88.3 million) project started in September 2021.
The project area covers 499.55 hectares across three villages — Ulupulu, Labolewa, and Rendubutowe — and promises to irrigate 4,289 hectares of agricultural land, primarily rice fields, on the predominantly Catholic island of Flores.
More than 80 percent of the construction has been completed, but the villagers have yet to receive full compensation.
Hermina Mawa, a 50-year-old woman from Rendubutowe, told UCA News that 30 homes, including hers, in the village were soon to be demolished for the project. But no compensation has been paid to them yet.
“We were offered only 30,000 rupiah per meter of land,” she said. “The house, graves, and standing crops were not taken into account.”
Mawa said there has been “intense pressure from the police” on the protesting villagers.
On Oct. 4, 2021, she and other residents were arrested but were released the same day.
“They have forced us to wait for the compensation. We are powerless,” Mawa added.
Many other villagers confirmed the pressure from police, as mentioned in Witin’s article, but said they were “not in a position to speak openly about this.”
The Divine Word priest said, “I have repeatedly emphasized that what we are facing is not simply a land conflict or a development project, but a mafia system involving a number of individuals.”
Witin is a former editor-in-chief of the Flores Pos newspaper published by the Society of Divine Word in Flores. It was closed in 2017 after three decades. He now manages a library for villagers on Lembata, an island east of Flores.