Land-for-land solution proposed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): House Speaker Wahono, concerned at the rising
\nnumber of land conflicts, proposed yesterday that people who give
\nup their land be compensated with land, plus a certain amount of
\nmoney.<\/p>\n
\"Land to many people is the most basic necessity. It cannot be
\nsubstituted or replaced by other goods,\" Wahono told a plenary
\nsession of the House.<\/p>\n
\"We fear, that the more people are being displaced, the more
\npeople are being left without land, and this means that more
\npeople are being left without a home,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government, as well as parties procuring the land, should
\nshoulder the responsibility of providing affordable housing for
\nthese displaced people, he added.<\/p>\n
Wahono expressed concern at the rapid erosion of productive
\nfarmland and at the increasing concentration of land ownership in
\nthe hands of a few rich farmers.<\/p>\n
He was especially concerned at the fate of villagers and
\nsmall-plot farmers, and stressed that these people were the very
\nbasis of the country's independence struggle 50 years ago.<\/p>\n
To all House members, Wahono urged them to pay greater
\nattention to cases of land conflicts. \"We have to protect the
\ninterest of the 'small people' and improve their welfare,\" he
\nsaid, referring to the Indonesian phrase for the weak and
\ndisadvantage.<\/p>\n
On the recent hikes in the prices of cement and paper by the
\ngovernment, Wahono said that in the future, such decisions should
\nbe preceded by an open dialog, so that they could be better
\nunderstood and accepted by the public.<\/p>\n
He praised the government's decision to lower the cement price
\nincrease but pointed out that the move to increase the price of
\npaper was not consistent with its own campaign to encourage
\npeople to read more.<\/p>\n
It is ironic that Indonesia is the world's largest supplier of
\npulp, yet the price of its paper is higher than those charged
\nabroad, he said. \"The increase in prices could only benefit a
\ncertain few people, at the expense of the public at large.\"<\/p>\n
Wahono hoped that the government could explain to the House
\nabout the impact of the higher yen on the Indonesian economy,
\nespecially on the government's foreign debt burden.<\/p>\n
He recalled that President Soeharto once said that the size of
\nIndonesia's foreign debt increases by $350 million every time the
\nvalue of the yen rises by one percentage point against the
\ndollar. \"With a 20% appreciation in the last three months, we can
\nenvisage how it affects our debt repayment positions.\" (emb\/rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/land-for-land-solution-proposed-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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