Four Tananahu Indigenous Residents Arrested After Protesting Land Clearance in Maluku

Four indigenous residents of Negeri Tananahu, Teluk Elpaputih District, Central Maluku Regency, Maluku, have been arrested after staging a protest against the clearance of customary land by PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN).

Negeri Tananahu Secretary Feliks Layan identified those arrested as JR, JL, YR, and ET. They were detained whilst residents were protesting the forced clearance of 3,458 hectares of customary land in Awaya. The customary land is being forcibly cleared by the state-owned plantation company for the construction of a nutmeg and coconut factory to support President Prabowo Subianto’s downstreaming programme.

“The company is clearing the land to build a nutmeg and coconut factory,” Feliks said when met by CNNIndonesia.com on Thursday (9/7). He stated the four indigenous residents were arrested on accusations of damaging the company’s office windows and allegedly making death threats against a company employee. “So they were arrested on charges of making death threats and damaging the company’s office windows,” he said. The four are currently being held in custody at the Central Maluku Police station.

Feliks said the residents do not oppose President Prabowo’s downstreaming project concerning the nutmeg and coconut factory. They are merely asking the government and the company to first resolve the legality of the land. The incident began when PTPN deployed heavy machinery to clear the 3,458-hectare customary land area in Awaya on Monday 2026. Residents flocked to the location and resisted. They drove away the heavy equipment and ran amok at the PTPN office, demanding the company immediately halt the clearance because PTPN’s Cultivation Rights Title (HGU) expired in 2012 after a 30-year contract period. They also felled coconut trees to block road access and prevent heavy machinery from entering the land.

Officers deployed to the scene managed to calm the residents’ emotions, but the residents insisted on expelling the heavy equipment and defending their customary land. The residents had previously rejected the company’s offer to renew the contract. Central Maluku Police Public Relations Head, Iptu Yani, confirmed the arrest of the four residents of Negeri Tananahu, identified as JR, JL, YR, and ET, in connection with alleged vandalism and assault.