Jambi villagers report continued intimidation in land dispute

Jon Afrizal, Jambi

Villagers in the Jambi regency of West Tanjungjabung, who are fighting to reclaim what they say is their land taken by a rubber plantation firm, have complained about constant intimidation and arrests.

They said security authorities, protecting land managed by PT Dasa Anugerah Sejati (DAS) at Penyabungan village, Tungkalulu district, often raided their houses and fired shots at them.

At least eight villagers had been arrested from 2000 and 2003 by security officers who accused them of stealing rubber from the plantation, said Zainal Effendi who chairs the Penyabungan farmers' group.

However, they later released the detainees after other local residents pressed for their freedom, he added.

"Besides the arrests, the authorities have even fired shots in residential areas. Even though it is merely aimed at intimidating residents, it's very disturbing. They ransacked our houses on several occasions after making various absurd accusations. Such intimidation has continued up to now," he told The Jakarta Post.

Zainal said the intimidation started when the villagers began their struggle to reclaim what they said was their right to 220 hectares of land in Penyabungan in 2000.

The residents, he said, had a strong legal basis for their assertions based on the Toengkal Oeloe Farmers' List of 1947.

The list was certified by village heads and signed by farmers' groups stating their right to 26 plots of land, estimated to be 1,100 hectares, in area.

PT DAS has planted the disputed land with high quality rubber trees. Residents have been taking turns since 2000, tapping latex in protest over the loss of their land.

There are 46 rubber trees per hectare of land, which can yield as many as 100 kilograms of latex per day. The rubber fetched Rp 3,500 (40 U.S. cents) per kilogram in 2003.

"Based on that reason (latex theft), the company resorted to intimidation. We don't really care about the rubber. It's only a means to get our land back," Zainal said.

He said the local government authorities did not respond positively to the farmers' complaints of intimidation by the company.

Local officials have also ignored the villagers' right to the disputed land, Zainal added.

In an effort to retain its ownership, the company recently cleared the disputed land and replanted it with oil palm trees.

PT DAS also plans to convert 9,007 hectares of its land into oil palm plantations in the neighboring villages of Lubuk Terab, Merlung, Pematang Pauh, Badang, Kampung Baru, Taman Raja, Pelabuhan Dagang and Lubuk Bernai.

However, according to Zainal, based on Law No. 12/1992 on plantation system, the company must obtain permission from the government before converting their rubber plantations.

So far, PT DAS is authorized under its concession to only grow rubber and cocoa on the land, he added.

Jambi's Oil Palm Investigation Network spokesman M. Sulthoni said the matter was being dealt with by the relevant agencies, adding that his group could take legal action against PT DAS to challenge its land conversion plans.