PRIME NEWS POST 

The INDONESIAN, (Mandailing)– Controversy has resurfaced following the arrival of the North Sumatra Provincial Government Integrated Task Force in Kotanopan Subdistrict, with two conflicting accounts emerging regarding the team’s purpose.

An official statement from the provincial government stated the task force was deployed to enforce action against Unlicensed Gold Mining (PETI). However, an unnamed Village Head claimed the visit was instead intended to support ongoing reclamation activities in the area.

This discrepancy has sparked public confusion and raised serious questions in the community.

M. Irwansyah Lubis, Director of the Institute for Development, Evaluation and Analysis (IDeA), has called on North Sumatra Governor Bobby Afif Nasution – as the party responsible for the task force – to provide an immediate, official, and public explanation of the team’s actual mandate.

“This dual narrative between the official provincial release and the village head’s claims must be resolved without delay. This contradiction risks misleading the public and obscuring the real issue at hand. To uphold the government’s credibility and maintain public trust, the Governor must offer clear public clarification,” Irwansyah insisted.

The former HMI activist noted that the public is now faced with two statements that cannot both be true.

“The question is simple yet fundamental: which account is accurate? The public deserves certainty, not competing narratives that contradict one another,” he said.

Irwansyah explained that if the task force was indeed carrying out enforcement – including seizing excavators, sealing mining sites, and issuing formal warnings to illegal operators – as stated in the official release, then the village head’s claim of support for reclamation would amount to disinformation.

Conversely, if the claim of support is valid, then the government’s official statement itself requires serious scrutiny.

“If there is indeed backing for reclamation being carried out by parties suspected of illegal mining, the public has every right to ask whether this enforcement action is genuine or merely ceremonial. We must not allow the impression that crackdowns are just formalities while unlicensed operations continue unchecked,” he warned.

Such ambiguity cannot be left unresolved, he said. “The public is entitled to accurate information. Law enforcement authorities must also investigate who is spreading inaccurate or misleading statements if such elements are confirmed.”

Irwansyah also addressed the use of the term “reclamation,” emphasising that it cannot be used to justify illegal mining.

“Under the law, reclamation is a mandatory obligation only for operations that hold valid mining permits. It cannot serve as a pretext to legitimise PETI or erase allegations of criminal conduct already committed,” stressed the former Mandailing Natal Regional Council member.

He further suspected that the reclamation narrative may have been deliberately raised as a cover for illegal activity. “Polri must conduct a thorough investigation to ensure no unlicensed mining is sheltering behind the guise of reclamation.”

Institutional-wise, IDeA also urged authorities to question the Singengu Julu Village Head over statements that contradict official information, risk confusing the public, and undermine trust in the North Sumatra Provincial Government.

IDeA also demanded firm, uncompromising law enforcement against all actors – including masterminds – involved in illegal mining across Mandailing Natal Regency.

As a medium-term solution, IDeA called on the provincial government to immediately issue a Governor Regulation establishing a Special Task Force for Illegal Mining Eradication involving all relevant stakeholders. In parallel, the government should accelerate the designation of People’s Mining Areas (WPR) and issuance of People’s Mining Permits (IPR) for eligible zones, enabling communities to pursue legal, orderly, and sustainable mining activities.

Reported from various media sources //photo from Google documents // contribution by Prime News Post international online media // news.paper
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