Bangka residents take protest to DPR

JAKARTA (JP): About 1,000 farm families on Bangka Island, southern Sumatra, are struggling to regain their land that they claim has been grabbed by a palm oil plantation company.

They sent a delegate to the House of Representatives (DPR) yesterday to seek the legislator's help in regaining their 4,000 hectares of land currently controlled by PT Gunung Sawit Bina Lestari.

They received assurances from legislators from the Indonesian Democratic Party that their plight would be referred to the relevant government agencies.

Spokesman for the farmers Abang Syarifuddin told the legislators that the peasants want the ownership of their property returned.

"We want our land back. We have tilled it generation after generation," Abang said, adding that the farmers have the necessary tax documents to prove their ownership of the land. "We pay taxes every year."

On the 4,000-hectares of land under dispute farmers grow cash crops such as rubber, pepper, and fruit. The company maintains that the land belongs to the state and is offering no compensation to the peasants. But it is willing to give Rp 150 (US$0.06) for each tree on the land, a sum that has flatly been rejected by the farmers.

"PT Gunung Sawit Bina Lestari must first obtain the official permits to use the land before it can start with its palm oil plantation," said Tarto Suroh, another delegation member.

Tarto said that the plantation company has rejected the government's suggestion of employing the farmers if the land is acquired.

The management of PT Gunung Sawit Bina Lestari was not available for comment yesterday.

PDI legislator Sukowaluyo Mintorahardjo said the faction will bring the matter to the next hearings with related government officials.

Sukowaluyo also urged the plantation company and the local government to suspend the development activities on the land until the dispute is solved. (imn)