Government defends new land decree amid strong protests<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has defended the controversial presidential
\ndecree that allows the government to forcibly take over privately
\nowned land that has been earmarked for development purposes, even
\nwhen owners fail to agree on compensation offered to them.<\/p>\n
Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that despite recent protests
\nby many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) against
\nPresidential Decree No. 36\/2005, it should not be assumed that
\nall people are opposed to it.<\/p>\n
\"Because it (the decree) is intended for the public interest.
\nDo not forget that this decree is different from the previous
\none, under which past authorities were able to acquire land
\narbitrarily,\" Kalla said late last week.<\/p>\n
He explained that in order to take over land for development
\nprojects under the new decree, a number of steps had to be
\nfollowed, including obtaining approval from more than 50 percent
\nof local residents.<\/p>\n
\"So, if all the residents disapprove of the land acquisition,
\nthen the takeover cannot proceed,\" Kalla added.<\/p>\n
Critics have claimed that the decree could be abused to favor
\nbusiness interests above public interests. A number of NGOs are
\ncurrently seeking public support to file a request for a judicial
\nreview of the decree, which they said could cause human rights
\nproblems in the future with forced evictions and intimidation.<\/p>\n
Walhi and a number of other NGOs plan to submit the request to
\nthe Supreme Court on July 29.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal
\nBakrie dismissed on Sunday concerns raised by the NGOs, saying
\nthat in addition to ensuring certainty for public development
\npurposes, the land decree also guarantees transparency in the
\nacquisition of land for development projects, and recognizes
\npeople's ownership of their land and property.<\/p>\n
Aburizal said in a press statement that the decree provided
\ncertainty for the development process because it stipulates that
\nthe process of negotiation with land owners must not exceed 90
\ndays from the time the first invitation to negotiate is made.<\/p>\n
On the matter of transparency, he explained that a plot of
\nland to be acquired by the government must already be included in
\nthe government's regional spatial planning, and that the land
\nallocation must also be approved by regional administrations such
\nas governors, regents or mayors.<\/p>\n
Both the central government and local administration must
\nconduct public consultations with lawmakers in designing the
\nspatial development plans and in allocating land resources for
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
\"The public consultation process will provide transparency
\nboth for the wider public and the people whose land would be
\ntaken for public development purposes,\" Aburizal said.<\/p>\n
He also said the decree rules that the size of compensation
\nfor people whose land and property would be affected must be
\ndecided by a professional appraiser to be appointed by local
\ngovernments.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-defends-new-land-decree-amid-strong-protests-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}