Breach of Balinese laws threatens village ties

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): A decision made two years ago by residents of the custom Kesiman village remains fresh in their minds: they threatened to revoke the membership of then governor of Bali Ida Bagus Oka.

Oka won notoriety among the villagers because he failed to honor his pledge to maintain the sacredness of Padanggalak beaches, where the local Hindus perform melasti, a religious ritual which concerns itself with purifying mother nature.

The blackmail turned out to be effective. The governor canceled the permit he had issued for a private company, PT Graha Sanur Dinamika, to reclaim the coast and build a hotel there.

The company was asked to collect the pebbles and landfill it had dumped on the coast. Oka has never explained why he canceled the project, but many believe it was because of the villagers' threat.

It is a common practice in Bali for people to have their membership in their customary village revoked on the grounds they have violated traditional laws.

Those disgraced people will lose their privileges. When they die, Hindu religious service, such as a cremation, will not be accorded them. This is why Balinese would show serious concern about losing their customary village membership.

Critics say punishment for those violating the traditional laws is "inhuman" and "against Hindu religious teachings".

The most recent incident against customary law perpetrators occurred on June 27, 1999. The victims were 116 people in Tabang hamlet, Sawan subdistrict, Buleleng regency.

Thousands of people armed with clubs, crowbars, hoes and fire bombs had gathered at the community hall to "give a lesson" to 11 families who farmed 10 hectares of land belonging to the customary village. The village had recently won a legal battle confirming their ownership of the property.

The would-be attackers did not bother to wait for the court ruling which would legally evict the 11 families; instead they took the law into their hands.

"No one dared to stop the villagers. Everyone was made to take part in the forced eviction of the farm families, otherwise they would have to pay a Rp 70,000 fine. Community leaders were threatened with a fine of Rp 4 million if they refused to sanction the eviction," said a traditional village leader.

Not even security officers could do anything to stop the violence.

There was no bloodshed as the families had fled two days earlier after hearing rumor of the impending attack.

Residents of the customary village were enraged by the 11 families' adamant refusal to move, despite losing the legal battle and the fact that the government had issued a certificate of ownership for the disputed land.

Sources at the court said authorities would have moved to evict the families in a matter of days when the Bebetin villagers moved in.

The Bebetin villagers considered legal procedures "too complicated" to carry out. Now, the 116 farmers evicted from the disputed land are sheltering in the Laksmi Graha building in Singaraja.

"We don't know where else to go, because we don't have anything anymore," said one of the dispossessed, Pan Miyada.

Culture of violence

Such incidents take place every year in Bali. Mobs take the law into their hands in the name of religion and customary traditions.

There have been cases where a mob set fire to facilities for cremation rituals, as happened in Sengkidu in 1996; disturbed a cremation ritual, as occurred in Abiansemal village in 1997; and attacked the home of the alleged traditional law violators as happened in Klungkung in 1996.

In the latest and most brutal incident, a mob burned down the home of a man in Abiansemal simply because he failed to register as a member of the customary village within a specified time.

Hampered by the reluctance of eyewitnesses to come forward, police have been singularly unsuccessful in arresting people allegedly responsible for attacking property, disturbing religious ceremonies and torturing people.

This failure has encouraged people to use mobs to force their will upon others without fear of legal reprisals. On the other hand, the tactic is effective to maintain the traditional laws, because everybody is afraid of losing their customary membership.

"Whatever the reason is, the use of violence violates human rights," says Nyoman Budi Adnyana, a lawyer and an activist with the Indonesian Hindu Youths Association.

He points out that for 32 years, the repressive New Order government provided examples in how to use violence and terror as a means to settle conflicts.

Ketut Wiana, chairman of the Indonesian Hindu Council's research and development section, said the use of violence in the name of traditional laws and religion should be stopped.

"Customary laws recommend fines and membership suspension as punishment," he said.