Farmers seek rights body help

JAKARTA (JP): Six men claiming to represent 500 families in Kedung Ombo, Central Java, sought help from the National Commission on Human Rights yesterday to secure higher compensation from the government for their land.

The Kedung Ombo farmers lost their land late 1980s when it was inundated by a World Bank-funded reservoir project. Living on the fringes of the reservoir, the farmers are still demanding that they be fairly compensated.

The six men from the Sragen regency were Gito, Wiharto, Darto, Karno, Somat and Daryoto.

"We have contacted the regional government and the House of Representatives to discuss the problem, but there has not been any reply so far," Darto said.

The Kedung Ombo reservoir displaced over 60,000 families. Most have accepted the compensation offered by the government.

Others strongly resisted being relocated. They finally had to give in, but have continued their battle for a better deal through the courts, by marching on the House of Representatives and by visiting the human rights commission yesterday.

Darto alleged that even those who accepted the government offer were given less than they owed. Citing the case of his father, he said only 10,480 of his 16,210 meters of land were compensated.

He said that most families were told to sign the land compensation agreement in which the governor decreed prices ranging from Rp 250 (US$0.11) to Rp 500 (US$0.23) as square meter, depending upon the land's function and use.

Darto said that most villagers did not resist the government's offer because they feared being labeled as anti-government. (03)