Farmers occupy taxiway at Hasanuddin airport

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): More than 200 farmers of Maros regency occupied the taxiway II area at Hasanuddin International Airport on Sunday in a demonstration against what they termed unfair land acquisition over their plots of land to be used for the airport project.

The protest did not affect the flight schedules, but aeroplane parking was disturbed during the occupation which started at 10 a.m. local time.

Eye-witnesses said that the protesters, consisting of infants and elderly people, broke the fence at the rear of the airport as the main gate was heavily guarded.

"Most of the people brought sharp weapons with them. The protesters continued their action by erecting wooden poles and put up plastic string separating the runway from the parking area," said a local who wanted to be anonymous.

"They also erected tents and burned used tires around the tents," the local said.

The airport security staff, accompanied by 30 police troops, failed to quell the protesters, who all brandished their machetes, sickles and other sharp weapons upon seeing policemen approaching them. A fire engine which had been instructed to back up the police also withdrew.

Minutes later officials of the airport management, PT Angkasa Pura I, met with the disgruntled landowners. Violence almost broke out when a police officer spoke roughly to the protesters.

Spokesman for the landowners, Supriansyah, who chairs Makassar Intellectual Law (a local organization providing legal advice), said that the problem began in 1991 when the then communications ministry bought a total of 564 hectares of land belonging to Mandai villagers in the regency of Maros for the extension of the airport.

"The landowners got only between Rp 3,000 and Rp 4,000 for each square meter of their land, while the government, according to the project document, agreed to buy the land for Rp 7,000 per square meter," Supriansyah said.

"The government had allocated Rp 600 billion to acquire the farmers' land," he said.

According to Supriansyah, the farmers of five villages finally learned that they had been outwitted.

"The farmers feel they have been cheated. They are just seeking justice. They have tried to protest before but always failed. The latest protest was in 1999 when they occupied the Provincial Prosecutors' Office."

The protesters vowed to stay at the airport unless the director general of air transportation came to meet them. However, they finally departed after they agreed to send Supriansyah to meet Minister of Communications Agum Gumelar in Jakarta.

Supriansyah told The Jakarta Post that the trip was at his own expense, adding that he decided to go after he got confirmation from the ministry that he could meet the minister. (27)