Farmers seek rights body help

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)