Balinese demand Tommy make good on promises

Balinese demand Tommy make good on promises

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Uncertainty shrouds the lives of hundreds
of farmers forced to vacate their land for a megaproject under
the youngest son of former president Soeharto.

They say compensation has not been forthcoming from PT Bali
Pecatu Graha (BPG), headed by Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra. The
firm is the biggest shareholder in Pecatu Indah Resorts, a
grandiose scheme including establishment of a five-star hotel,
golf course, marina, recreation center, art gallery, museum and
luxurious housing complex in Pecatu district.

During the launching of the Rp 13.7 trillion project in 1997,
the company made numerous promises about compensation. They have
proven empty, farmers claim.

Of the proposed 650-hectare area, 123.14 hectares are state-
owned land cultivated by farmers for hundreds of years. The
farmers applied for a land certificate to the local government
for the area but it was never acknowledged.

Tommy encountered no such problems when he proposed the
project in 1995. His application for a land certificate was
immediately granted by then regent Ida Bagus Oka. PT BPG and its
lawyer Nyoman Sukandia stated that utilization of the state-owned
land would be compensated with productive land from several
regions in Bali. The company also promised to give each of the
farmers Rp 5 million and a 200-meter-square plot.

The agreement, made in 1995 upon the approval of Bali
provincial councilors, also mentioned that no construction should
begin before land compensation for the Bali administration and
the monetary and land compensation were provided to the farmers.

Nevertheless, in 1996, before any compensation had been made,
PT BPG already had its hands on the land certificate.

Thirty-four of the hundreds of families sought help from
lawyer Wayan Sudirta. When a bulldozer from PT BPG arrived on the
land, two farmers, Made Dana and Wayan Rebho, along with dozens
of others, made a fence from plants to prevent land clearance.
Made Dana and Wayan Rebho were arrested.

"The government is not fair. They are breaking the law," Wayan
Sudirta stated firmly.

Made Dana, 55, and Wayan Rebho, 60, were sentenced by the
Denpasar District Court to 10 months according to a highly
ambiguous article in the Criminal Code: doing displeasing acts.
After the court handed down the verdict last year, the defendants
were freed because the sentence .

Since Soeharto's fall in May and the attendant turn in PT
BPG's fortunes, more farmers are daring to stand up for their
rights.

"Our land was taken away from us without any compensation
whatsoever," said Nyoman Sujana, one of the coordinators for 200
farmers who stated their claim before the local government last
month.

"Although our land has been taken away, we have not been
compensated for a single cent."

Sujana also said several fellow farmers had serious problems
because they had no land and nothing to farm on. "They used to be
able to live well from farming or working as hard labor. Now, all
that is gone."

Meanwhile, Nyoman Sukandia, PT BPG's lawyer, said:
"Compensation for all the farmers has been done, except for
seven, whose legal case is being handled by Wayan Sudirta."

Sujana objected: "That is all lies, there are more than seven
families which have not received any compensation. Yet, they are
afraid to find a lawyer who will defend their case."

Naturally, they are scared. Sources said the people face
intimidation from military personnel to drop their fight.

The Armed Forces claim the accusations are untrue.

Col. Made Yasa said: "If one of my men is involved in such
affairs, let it be resolved internally by us. Do not let it
spread out, because we do not know if these claims are true."

More misfortune has hit the farmers. Recently, it was found
that government officials claimed 17 hectares in Pecatu in 1993.
The farmers who had tilled the land also came to Wayan Sudirta
for legal assistance.

"There are around 400 government officials who somehow got
land in Pecatu, they even managed to get land certificates," said
Wayan Ariawan, an associate of Wayan Sudirta.

Among the claimants to the state-owned land is the regent of
Badung, Gusti Alit Putra, the entire provincial council, the head
of Kuta district, IB Manu Manuaba, and former Denpasar regent
Manu Suwenda. All received land of between 400 sqm and 600 sqm.

"It is clearly not fair that those government personnel may
claim state-owned land as they wish but the farmers who have been
cultivating the land for hundreds of years may not," Ariawan
said. "According to the law, it is the farmers who have a better
claim to the land and should be prioritized to get a certificate
for their land."

Badung regent Gusti Alit Putra admitted there is state-owned
land in Pecatu allocated to government personnel. "Yet they all
staked their claims through correct procedures, after they
submitted their claim to the regent and paid the administrative
fees."

The administrative fee ranges from Rp 250,000 to Rp 800,000.

"If that is all, then the farmers themselves could simply pay
for it themselves," Ariawan commented.

The problem of the 17 hectares is more complicated. Although
it was already certified, when PT BPG came to claim the land, it
was transferred to the company.

Farmers like Nyoman Sujana and a few others, whose plots are
within the 17 hectares, are now doubly confused. "We do not know
against whom we should press charges. To PT BPG or to the people
under the Badung government representative."

Amidst the growing confusion, Bali Governor Dewa Made Beratha
suggested early this month that PT BPG halt construction, at
least until it was proven to have thoroughly fulfilled all items
of the treaty.

PT BPG has already constructed its golf course and arranged
the landscaping of the 650 hectares.