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)