Land disputes politicized: Minister
Land disputes politicized: Minister
JAKARTA (JP): Some parties are politicizing land disputes for personal gain and to benefit from the 1997 election, a cabinet minister alleged yesterday.
Minister of Agrarian Affairs/Chairman of the National Land Agency Soni Harsono asked his officials to be wary of the possibility.
"Their maneuvers may become more commonplace as next year's election approaches," Soni said at a national agrarian affairs workshop.
He declined to name the people and the groups he suspected of exploiting land disputes.
But, he said, it is understood that student and human rights groups have a strong network that provides legal advice to farmers who face the prospect of losing their property to development projects.
Soni advised his officials to solve land acquisition conflicts in the early stages to avoid the intervention of a third party.
He said that many recent land disputes developed into national controversies because local administrations failed to deal with the matters while they were still manageable.
He mentioned as examples land ownership disputes in Jenggawah, East Java; Puncak, West Java; and Parbuluan, North Sumatra.
The Jenggawah and Parbuluan land disputes ended in physical clashes between farmers and security officers.
Meanwhile, 17 Karang Sari villagers in Garut regency, West Java, went to the National Commission on Human Rights yesterday to protest the forced appropriation of their land.
"They (the government) took our land to build a road. We have never been offered any compensation," spokesman for the protesters Rana Surya said yesterday to commission member Roekmini Koesoemo Astoeti Soedjono.
The government should provide compensation because the project is financed with money from the state budget, he said. The residents are demanding that the government offer them at least Rp 5,000 (US$2.10) in compensation for each square meter of their property.
However, Garut regent Toharudin Gani said last week that the local administration does not have the money to compensate them.
Roekmini told the residents that the rights commission would soon investigate their claim. (imn)