Jember farmers refuse to give up disputed land

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of farm families embroiled in a bitter conflict with the state-owned plantation company in Jember, East Java, refused Saturday to give up their claim to 2,800 hectares of disputed land.

In a meeting with the East Java military chief Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo in Jember last week, the tobacco farmers promised to stop their violent protests if the government heeds their demand.

"As he (Utomo) suggested, I will ask the farmers to stop demonstrating which may disrupt security, but at the same time I made it clear that we have no intention to back down," said Imam Mashuri, one of the farmers' representatives who met with Imam last week.

Utomo promised to help solve the highly publicized conflict, warning the farmers against further protests which might be used by irresponsible parties for their own ends.

Until a solution is reached the regional military commander declared that neither the farmers nor the company are allowed to use the land in dispute.

The military stepped into the conflict to quell the week-long protests that saw the burning down of more than two dozen tobacco storehouses belonging to the local branch of state-run plantation company, PTP-27.

Last week's flurry of attacks on the company's assets occurred following the local government's plan to shift the right to use the state land from the peasants to the company.

The government maintains that the land in the Jenggawah district belongs to the state. The farm families have been granted the right to till the land but not to own the property formerly controlled by the Dutch colonial administrators.

But Mashuri insisted that the agrarian law and a presidential decree issued in 1986 allow the farmers to own land which has the same historical background.

State Minister for Agrarian Affairs/Chief of the National Land Agency Soni Harsono stressed last week that the government has decided to give the land to the plantation company and has no intention of giving it up to the farmers.

"The land's ownership will never go to the farmers. I have discussed the matter with the minister of agriculture, who rightly pointed out that the company will lose all of its assets if the government bows to their demand," he said.

The fertile land has become a source of income for both the plantation company and the farmers since the Dutch colonial times before Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945.

The conflict between the peasants and the company dates back to 1978 when long-time occupants demanded ownership of the property. The occupants insist that they have the right to own the land inherited from the colonial administration.

The farmers have referred the problem to the vice president through Post Box 5000, which is specially made available to people to report on alleged corruption or abuse of power involving government officials.

Utomo said the military was ready to facilitate constructive talks between the farmers and the PTP-27 to solve the problem for good.

"It will take a long time before the problem can be solved to the satisfaction of all disputing parties," he told journalists in Surabaya last week as quoted by Antara.

The regional military command is collecting information on the disputed land from both the farmers and the plantation company. "We will bring them to the negotiating table after we have collected enough data," he said.

Utomo said that if both parties failed to reach an agreement he is ready with an alternative solution that he called the "7-17 Formula". Under the proposed arrangement, in every 24 months, the plantation company tills the land for seven moths and the farmers 17 months until a permanent agreement is reached. (pan)