Farmers stage protest

JAKARTA: About 200 farmers and activists demonstrated outside the People's Consultative Assembly on Wednesday, demanding a decree to defend the interests of peasants and customary communities.

The demonstrators came from various organizations, such as the United Pasundan Farmers, the Alliance of Nusantara Customary Communities, the Alliance of Indonesian Farmers and the Federation of Indonesian Farmers.

The demonstrators said that farmers and customary communities in Indonesia had been deprived of their rights over the past 30 years and wanted them restored.

The Assembly has completed its preliminary deliberation of the draft decree on Agrarian Reform and Natural Resource Management that will become the basis for reform of subordinate laws.

Hendrik Saragih of the Federation of Indonesian Farmers, who acted as the protesters' spokesman, said that the draft decree hardly touched on the common people's interests. -- JP