Persoalan yang terjadi di Mentawai belakangan ini, akibat kebijakan pemerintah yang tidak berpihak pada masyarakat, malahan tindakan pemerintah menimbulkan persoalan baru denga mendatangkan aparat ke Mentawai, dengan tujuan yang tidak jelas.

Menurutnya pemerintahlah yang merusak Mentawai, contohny saja izin perusahaaan seperti Hak Pengusahaan Hutan (HPH) dan Izin Pemanfaatan Kayu (IPK), diberikan tanpa mempertimbangkan aspirasi masyarakat, apakah benar masyarakat membutuhkan perusahaan tesebut, lalu bagaimana sosialisasinya, akhirnya sekarang terjadi konflik horizontal antar masyarakat sendiri. Sementara penyelesaian dilakukan dengan pendekatan militerisme.
    Edison Saleleubaja mengaku tidak mengerti untuk apa didatangkan aparat begitu banyak kesana (Siberut red). "Ada indikasi untuk mengintimidasi masyarakat disana, padahal kalau ini dibiarkan berlanjut akan berdampak luar biasa bagi Mentawai, sebab masyarakat sangat trauma dan sensitif sekali dengan aparat. Apalagi kehadiran aparat juga tidak pernah dibicarakan denga DPRD Mentawai".
    Ia selaku ketua DPRD Mentawai kwatir, malah akan terjadi perlawanan dari masyarakat, jika mereka telah merasa tertekan dan ketakutan.
    Seharusnya, jika memang mau otonomi, biarkan dulu Mentawai membenahi dirinya, menyusun perangkat daerahnya, "Jangan terlalu jauh diintervensi, in berarti pemerintah belum sepenuh hati melepas Mentawai menjadi kabupaten", jelasnya.
    Selain itu persoalan timbul, karena Mentawai telah dipatok-patok menjadi Areal Penggunaan Lain (APL), Hutan Produksi (HP), Hutan yang dapat dikonversi, lalu lahan milik masyarakat tidak ada. Artinya pengakuan terhadap tanah ulayat tidak ada.
    Seharusnya menerut Edison, kalau memang otonomi, hak masyarakat adat harus dikembalikan lagi, berarti pengakuan terhadap tanah adat harus ada. "Kita kan sudah kembali ke Nagari, daerah Tk.II bebas menentukan nasibnya sendiri, berarti pengakuan terhadap tanah adat itu harus ada", tegasnya.
    Ia melihat selama ini masyarakat belum terbangun, apa yang menjadi kontribusi bagi Pendapan Asli Daerah (PAD), walau kayu masih menjadi primadona bagi PAD, namun hingga saat ini satu senpun tidak ada kontribusi bagi masyarakat, sebab pungutan IHH langsung ke pusat dan hanya kembali sebagian kecil ke masyarakat.
    Karena itu DPRD Mentawai berkeinginan untuk membuat Perda Pemungutan Hasil Hutan, sehingga kontribusi langsung dapa dirasakan oleh masyarakat.
    Namun kondisi Mentawai yang kurang kondusif saat ini, diaku amat mengganggu proses otonomi daerah, dan mengganggu pemilihan bupati defenitif, "Kalau Mentawai berpolemik terus kapan masyarakat akan sejahtera", tanyanya.
    Buktinya menurut Edison, saat masyarakat datang dari Mentawai untuk menyampaikan aspirasinya ke pemerintah atau Gubernur, malah tidak ditanggapi. Padahal mereka datang dari jauh untuk menyampaikan aspirasinya.
    Demikianlah perbincangan Ketua DPRD Mentawai denga Semangat Demokrasi, Jumat (8/6).
 

Edison Saleleubaja: The Conflict in Mentawai is a Consequence of Government Policy.
Semangat Demokrasi (8/6/2001) Reproduced in "Puailiggoubat: Information and Empowerment Resource for the Mentawai Community", No.3. June 2001.

The recent problem in Mentawai is a consequence of the government not only not siding with the local community, but creating new problems with the sending of forces there, the reasons for which are unclear.

According to Edison it is the government that has ruined Mentawai. For just one example take the company permits such as the Forestry Utilization Rights and Timber Utilization Permits, issued without consideration to the wishes of the community. Is it true that the community needs these companies? And how about the conveying of information? In the end there is horizontal conflict amongst the community, and in the meantime a military solution is found.
    Edison Saleleubaja confesses that he does not understand why so many military personnel were brought there (Siberut, Ed.). "There are indications that it was to intimidate the community. But if this is left unchecked then there will be an inordinate impact for Mentawai, because the community is traumatized and sensitive in relation to the military. What's more is that their presence was never discussed with the Mentawai Regional People's Assembly.
    The current Head of the Mentawai Regional People's Assembly is worried that there will be resistance from the community should they feel pressured or afraid.
    What ought to happen, if there is a real desire for autonomy, is to let Mentawai get its affairs and territory in order by itself, "Don't let there be too much intervention. This means that the government has not fully relinquished Mentawai to become a kabupaten", he clarified.
    Apart from this problems arise because it has been determined that Mentawai become a Region for Alternative Uses, Productive Forest, and Forest that can be preserved, in which locally owned land is not acknowledged.
    What ought to happen, according to Edison, if there is truly to be autonomy, the community's rights in land according to local standards must be returned to them, which would mean that there must be an acknowledgement of these standards in relation to land. "Have we not returned to the Nagari [Minangkabau land tenure system], the level II administrative areas [Kabupaten/Kota] are free to make their own fate. This means that there must be an acknowledgement of local evaluations of land tenure", he emphasised.
    So far he has seen community underdevelopment; and what has contributed to District Domestic Product? Although timber is central to this, up until now there has not been one cent contributed to the local community, because collected Forestry Dues go straight to the central authorities with a only small portion returned to the community.
    Because of this the Mentawai Regional People's Assembly desires to create a Local Government Forest Production Levy so that contributions can be directly felt by the community.
    Still, the conditions in Mentawai are not all that conducive at the moment, and are really interfering with the process of regional autonomy and the choosing of a permanent bupati, "If Mentawai continues to be caught up in controversy, when will the community acheive prosperity", he asked.
    The proof, according to Edison, is the time members of the community came from Mentawai in order to communicate their aspirations to the government or the Governor, and where, on the contrary they were ignored, even though they had come just to communicate their aspirations.
    Thus went the discussion of the Head of the Mentawai People's Regional Assembly with Semangat Demokrasi, Friday (8/6).