Farmers and students protest over land policies

JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of farmers, students and activists marked Agrarian Day on Thursday in several cities throughout the country with street protests, blasting the government for policies they claimed had dispossessed thousands of small landholders.

In Bogor, West Java, at least 500 farmers and activists took to the streets to protest the appropriation of their lands by real estate and golf course developers. The group, which included students from Bogor's Pakuan University and activists of the AMPERA legal aid institute, called themselves the Indonesian Farmers' Solidarity (STI).

They demanded the government to return the land to the farmers.

"Give the land back to the people", read a poster carried during the protest in the compound of the Bogor residential administration office.

The protesters also accused former president Soeharto of kicking farmers off their land to build a cattle ranch.

The farmers came from the villages of Tapos, Cijayanti and Malasari in Bogor regency, Cimacan village in the West Java town of Cianjur and Rancamaya village in Bogor mayoralty.

The protesters demanded that Soeharto and his cronies be brought to court for the forcible seizure of their lands.

"Try Soeharto and his cronies who have caused losses to farmers and the people," their statement read.

"Stop building golf courses and real estate on productive farmland," it also said.

The group staged the protest under a drizzling rain, charging that firms had abused state power during the Soeharto era to appropriate agricultural land.

The protesters claimed that in 1974, Soeharto had forced farmers off their land with little compensation to build his sprawling "Tri S" cattle ranch in Tapos near Bogor.

"Tapos is evidence of Soeharto's wealth", read one poster carried by the protesters, some of whom had swarmed back into Tapos in July and planted crops.

In Jakarta, more than 300 students and farmers braved light rain to stage a rally in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) while dozens of police officers and soldiers stood watch.

Jimmy, the protest's coordinator, was quoted by Antara as saying the farmers came from North Sumatra, Aceh, East Java, the West Java towns of Cibaliung and Pandeglang and the Central Java coastal town of Pekalongan.

The protesters made fiery speeches, dancing and singing to the beat of traditional drums.

Posters and banners were also unfurled, some reading: "Farmers suffer because development's gone on wrong direction" and "Uphold human rights, return our lands".

The farmers were joined by students from the University of Indonesia.

In the West Sumatra capital of Padang, another group of 200 farmers accompanied by activists from several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rallied outside the governor's office to protest various land disputes there, AFP reported.

They protested the conversion of farmer's lands and the opening of forests on Mentawai island, off the coast of the province, for private oil palm plantations, a widespread practice in West Sumatra over the past several years.

The province has in past months seen incidents of farmers attacking oil palm estates and other projects that had taken over their land without adequate compensation.

The demonstrations came amid protests that the government is dragging its feet in its investigation into allegations that Soeharto had illicitly amassed a fortune during his 32 years in power.

It was the second consecutive day of farmer protests. On Wednesday, similar protests were also staged in North Sumatra's capital of Medan and in Bali.

The protest in Medan was by far the biggest, with several thousand farmers and students participating. The farmers demanded the return of their land forcibly taken by private companies with the backing of government authorities.

On Thursday, also at the governor's office in Medan, hundreds of farmers again staged a similar protest.

Back in Jakarta, the government called for public cooperation concerning idle private land that nearby residents have illegally cultivated for additional food during the crisis.

State Minister of Land Affairs Hasan Basri Durin stated that while the government understood that people needed land to till, there were also rules to follow.

"Otherwise, things will get chaotic," he said at a news conference in his office after commemorating the 38th anniversary of the Basic Agrarian Law.

"We hope cultivators will organize themselves, contact the local (government) administration, cooperate with land owners ... it's hoped that we can allocate some financial assistance in the regional budget," he said.

Durin said his office would help the people to simplify the process of such cooperation. (21/24/ivy/aan)