Government defends new land decree amid strong protests

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has defended the controversial presidential decree that allows the government to forcibly take over privately owned land that has been earmarked for development purposes, even when owners fail to agree on compensation offered to them.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that despite recent protests by many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) against Presidential Decree No. 36/2005, it should not be assumed that all people are opposed to it.

"Because it (the decree) is intended for the public interest. Do not forget that this decree is different from the previous one, under which past authorities were able to acquire land arbitrarily," Kalla said late last week.

He explained that in order to take over land for development projects under the new decree, a number of steps had to be followed, including obtaining approval from more than 50 percent of local residents.

"So, if all the residents disapprove of the land acquisition, then the takeover cannot proceed," Kalla added.

Critics have claimed that the decree could be abused to favor business interests above public interests. A number of NGOs are currently seeking public support to file a request for a judicial review of the decree, which they said could cause human rights problems in the future with forced evictions and intimidation.

Walhi and a number of other NGOs plan to submit the request to the Supreme Court on July 29.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie dismissed on Sunday concerns raised by the NGOs, saying that in addition to ensuring certainty for public development purposes, the land decree also guarantees transparency in the acquisition of land for development projects, and recognizes people's ownership of their land and property.

Aburizal said in a press statement that the decree provided certainty for the development process because it stipulates that the process of negotiation with land owners must not exceed 90 days from the time the first invitation to negotiate is made.

On the matter of transparency, he explained that a plot of land to be acquired by the government must already be included in the government's regional spatial planning, and that the land allocation must also be approved by regional administrations such as governors, regents or mayors.

Both the central government and local administration must conduct public consultations with lawmakers in designing the spatial development plans and in allocating land resources for development.

"The public consultation process will provide transparency both for the wider public and the people whose land would be taken for public development purposes," Aburizal said.

He also said the decree rules that the size of compensation for people whose land and property would be affected must be decided by a professional appraiser to be appointed by local governments.