DPR Commits to Follow Up Aspirations After Receiving KNARA Protest Audience

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) has committed to following up on the aspirations of the National Coalition for Agrarian Reform (KNARA) after receiving an audience with representatives of the protesters who demonstrated in front of the parliament building in Jakarta on Monday. DPR Deputy Speaker Saan Mustopa stated that the Special Committee (Pansus) on Agrarian Reform would identify the points of aspiration conveyed to be further coordinated with the council’s complementary bodies and relevant ministries or institutions. “Because this cuts across commissions and institutions, both agencies and ministries, it will be handled specifically by the Pansus team later. The Pansus team will try to synchronise what you have conveyed,” he said. According to him, this synchronisation will be carried out in a short time. He said the aspirations conveyed by KNARA would serve as material for an internal coordination meeting of the DPR’s Pansus on Agrarian Reform. “Hopefully, at the Pansus meeting next week, we can put this on the agenda. The agenda will be synchronised to invite the relevant parties,” said Saan, who is also the chairman of the special committee. Meanwhile, Chairperson of Commission IV of the DPR, Siti Hediati Hariyadi, also known as Titiek Soeharto, expressed her concern after hearing the complaints from KNARA representatives. She said these complaints would be discussed in inter-commission meetings and with the government. “We will map them out one by one, whether it concerns the police, or whether there has been intimidation,” said Titiek, who is also the Daily Chair of the DPR’s Pansus on Agrarian Reform. She also urged the police to prioritise a humanist approach and to properly resolve agrarian issues within the community. She made this statement in response to complaints from protest representatives who claimed they had been intimidated. Regarding the overlapping land ownership issues that also surfaced during the forum, Titiek said her party would seek a wise solution. “We will strive to resolve this as best as possible,” she said. During the audience, the General Chairperson of the KNARA National Governing Board, Wahida Baharuddin Upa, urged the DPR to accelerate the resolution of agrarian conflicts and ensure follow-up on the revocation of cultivation rights titles for companies violating people’s rights. “I think this is not a matter of courage, but whether the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency or the Ministry of Forestry can truly be firm. If it is revoked, revoke it, while of course providing certainty to the community,” said Wahida.