Lampung authorities urged to disband armed militias

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Tulangbawang

Some 5,000 villagers from Bakung Ilir subdistrict, in Lampung, issued an ultimatum to Governor Oemarsono and Provincial Police Chief. Brig. Gen. Sugiri to disband armed civilian militias hired by two sugarcane companies PT Indo Lampung Perkasa (ILP) and PT Sweet Indo Lampung (SIL), following the recent killing of two villagers.

Rebo, 47, and his son Sodri, 21, both residents of Bujungtenuk village in Menggala district, died on Nov. 19, after an attack by some 400 militia members.

Chairil Suhaimi, spokesman for the local people, said the villagers would, "embark upon a physical struggle to retrieve all land that had been occupied by the two sugarcane companies illegally unless the land dispute was resolved peacefully."

He accused the two companies of hiring hoodlums to intimidate villagers who had demanded better compensation for their land.

"The hoodlums, dressed in yellow uniforms and armed with machetes, arrows and knives, have terrorized people protesting the land occupation," he said, adding that the land dispute rose after thousands of hectares of their traditional land were taken by force during the New Order era, (before 1998) without any compensation. Since the fall of Soeharto in 1998, they have increased their calls for compensation, and as a result the company responded by hiring civilian security groups.

Chairil conceded that the two companies had negotiated with six people who received Rp 750,000 per hectare from the two companies since 1999, "but the recipients do not represent all the people and the money has never been reported to the tribal chief."

Tulangbawang Police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Dodik Yuristono, said the police had arrested five people suspected of beating the two villagers to death.

"The four suspects are members of the armed civilian militias. Also, three truck drivers who aided and abetted the militia gangs have been also detained."

The chairman of the Federation of All-Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) branch with PT SIL, Riyadi, accused the villagers of provoking the militia gangs into violence.

"The militiamen only killed the two villagers after four other villagers seized company truck with a number of workers aboard," he said.

Asked to comment on the company's paid gang members and their actual role, Riyadi said the militiamen were hired not to fight against villagers but to maintain security at the company and on its sugar plantations in the province.

Edwin Hanibal, director of the Legal Aid Institute in Bandarlampung, said the two companies must disband the militias as it was illegal, but then said that it should encourage police to moonlight as company security guards.

"If they want to maintain security in the plantations, they should hire security personnel from the local police. We have frequently urged the Tulangbawang regent to ban the militiamen, but no action has been taken," he said.

Hanibal added that the two companies, with mediation from the local administration, should hold dialogs with village leaders to seek a peaceful solution to the land dispute.

"The two companies should pay fair compensation to the people for their land, which has been occupied for years," he said.