The Beutong Ateuh Banggalang region has never been truly free from\nthe threat of mining. Each time one permit is revoked, a new company\nname emerges. Residents once again take to the streets, carrying\nbanners, prayers, and the same anxieties about their contested land.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s a mine, there\u2019s no story of acceptance, whatever the\nreason,\u201d said Saudah during a protest with hundreds of Beutong Ateuh\nresidents and students last week at the Nagan Raya Regent\u2019s Office.\nDuring the action, they demanded the government halt all mining\nactivities and plans in the mountainous area that serves as the\ncommunity\u2019s source of life.<\/p>\n
For the residents, rejecting the mine is not a momentary movement.\nThe resistance has lasted for years. They have blockaded the Beutong\nBridge, held mass prayers, protested against village officials, and\npursued a lawsuit against PT Emas Mineral Murni (EMM), which resulted in\na victory at the Supreme Court. This resistance is born from the\nconviction that mining is not merely an investment issue, but a matter\nof survival. \u201cWe are ready to die to protect our ancestral lands,\u201d a\nresident told the crowd.<\/p>\n
For the community, the Beutong area is not just a landscape holding\ngold beneath the earth. The forest is a source of food, water, and\nliving space, as well as the last bastion supporting the local economy.\nThey fear mining activities will completely alter a way of life\ninherited for generations.<\/p>\n
Behind the emergence of new permits, the Indonesian Forum for the\nEnvironment (Walhi) Aceh sees a repeating pattern. Afifuddin Acal, Head\nof Advocacy and Campaigns for Walhi Aceh, stated that most Mining\nBusiness Permits (IUP) in Aceh are not held by the actual capital\nowners. He said the companies that appear on the surface mostly act as\ninitial permit holders before transferring them to large investors.\n\u201cBased on General Legal Administration (AHU) documents, it is clear that\nbehind PT Alam Cempaka Wangi and PT Hasil Bumi Sembada, there is a\nnetwork of larger capital owners, including links to the Green Power\nGroup,\u201d Afifuddin said on Friday, 26 June 2026.<\/p>\n
He noted that the mining industry requires massive investment, high\ntechnology, and skilled labour, casting doubt on the financial capacity\nof local IUP holders to bring projects to the exploitation stage. \u201cOnce\nexploration is complete, it is very likely the permit will be\ntransferred to the real capital owner.\u201d Afifuddin described this pattern\nas a mining brokerage practice. However, he said, large capital owners\ncannot operate alone; they need local people who understand the social\nstructure of Acehnese society. \u201cNational players do not understand the\ncharacter of Acehnese society. Therefore, they need local people who\nunderstand the customs, culture, and how to build communication. We call\nthem \u2018jongos\u2019 or local agents.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to him, the presence of local agents is crucial to\nfacilitating the investment process, especially in building social\nacceptance within the community. He estimated the number of such local\nagents to be small, possibly fewer than ten people, though he admitted\nto not having exact data. Afifuddin observed a significant shift after\nthe enactment of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation. During the permitting\nprocess for PT EMM around 2014\u20132015, community approval was a critical\nfactor in issuing permits. \u201cAfter the Omnibus Law, whether or not there\nis community approval, the permitting process can still proceed\naccording to regulations.\u201d He argued this regulatory change\ndistinguishes the current dynamics of mining investment from those of a\nfew years ago and questioned the government\u2019s allegiance. \u201cIf the\ngovernment sides with investors, the policies will favour IUP holders,\nbut if it sides with the people, then the people\u2019s aspirations must be\nheard.\u201d Afifuddin assessed that Aceh is far more suited to developing\nsustainable investments based on agriculture, plantations, forest\nproducts, and local commodities rather than the extractive sector.\nCiting 2023 data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the mining\nand quarrying sector absorbs only about 0.96 percent of the workforce in\nAceh, far below agriculture and trade. \u201cFor indigenous communities, the\nforest is a supermarket. All their life needs are available there. As\nlong as people can live from the forest, the area should not be\ndisturbed.\u201d As far as he knows, at least four companies have tried to\nenter the Beutong Ateuh Banggalang area: PT EMM, BMA, PT Alam Cempaka\nWangi, and PT Hasil Bumi Sembada. He believes almost all mining\nactivities have the potential to trigger social conflict. \u201cThat is why\ncompanies always need local power or local agents to minimise\nconflict.\u201d<\/p>\n
Syukur Tadu, Director of APEL Green Aceh, views the emergence of two\nnew mining permits in Beutong Ateuh Banggalang as more than just a\nchange of company name. \u201cIt\u2019s like a person changing clothes. The person\nis the same, only the clothes are different.\u201d He suspects the concession\nareas of PT Alam Cempaka Wangi and PT Hasil Bumi Sembada are located in\nareas that were previously the operational territory of PT Emas Mineral\nMurni (EMM). He therefore questioned why the government is reopening\nspace for mining activities in an area that was previously the subject\nof a legal dispute up to the Supreme Court level. Syukur argued that the\nissuance of these new permits contradicts the spirit and legal\nconsiderations of Supreme Court Decision Number 277 K\/TUN\/LH\/2020, which\ngranted the lawsuit filed by Walhi Aceh and residents against PT EMM\u2019s\nmining business permit.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/local-servants-smooth-the-path-for-mining-in-beutong-1782582615", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }