Farmers, policemen injured in clash
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Dozens of people, including two policemen, were injured as farmers and police clashed on Sunday over a dispute in connection with land earmarked for the construction of an airport in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).
The disturbances erupted at around 10 a.m. after police forcibly evicted local farmers who occupied a block of land in Penujap, where the planned airport is be built.
Tension was high in the area following the riot, Antara reported.
Herman, an activist with the NTB Farmers Union, a non- governmental organization, was quoted as saying that at least 27 farmers were injured in the clash.
They mostly suffered gunshot wounds while two police officers had been wounded by arrows.
At least eight farmers were arrested and brought to the local police station.
However, the West Nusa Tenggara Police were unable to give further information on the incident and the suspects.
"I haven't been formally notified about the incident by the Central Lombok Police," NTB Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Basri was quoted as saying.
The land in question had reportedly been acquired by the local administration for the construction of a new airport in Central Lombok.
The eviction, according to local police, was carried out following the revocation of a permit granted by the National Police chief for the holding of a meeting of local members of an international farmers organization in Penujap.
The farmers, however, insisted that they had received a permit, so they pressed ahead with their plan to hold the meeting.
After the violence, 11 members of the international farmers group, along with local colleagues, held a peaceful rally in front of the West Nusa Tenggara Police headquarters.
The farmers demanded that the police officers guarding the block of land be withdrawn immediately.
Late last month, hundreds of farmers held rallies to protest the scheduled arrival of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the area to attend the ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of the airport's construction.
At the time, the protesters brandished traditional weapons, such as swords, sharpened bamboo sticks and spears following the arrival of bulldozers at the site.
Land disputes are quite common in the country, with cases of arbitrary eviction and land takeovers by the government in the name of development being commonplace.
The Susilo administration recently issued a government regulation allowing the state to take over land to be used for the construction of public facilities, even if no agreement was reached with its owners.
The regulation stipulates 21 types of development projects, including airports, that are to be given priority.
Despite providing greater clarity over the issue of eminent domain, the new decree has also raised public concerns and protests due to fears that the old practices of arbitrary eviction would continue.