Land disputes top list of social problems: NGOs
Land disputes top list of social problems: NGOs
JAKARTA (JP): Activists asserted over the weekend that land
disputes have grown more complicated in the past several years
and now top the list of social problems in Indonesia.
Zoemrotin K. Susilo, chairwoman of the International Non-
Governmental Organization Forum on Indonesian Development, said
that land-related complaints dominate press reports on cases
human rights violations.
Zoemrotin's colleague, Asmara Nababan, identified the three
most-reported social problems as land disputes, labor strikes and
disputes, and violations of human rights.
Both Zoemrotin and Nababan discussed the increasing importance
of land cases in relation with the conference of international
NGOs in Canberra scheduled from April 26 through April 28. The
gathering will focus on the issues of land and development.
Zoemrotin quoted studies conducted by Gadjah Mada University
and the Legal Aid Institute office, both in Yogyakarta, on how
reports of land disputes regularly surface in the Kompas, Suara
Pembaruan, Media Indonesia and Jawa Pos daily newspapers.
"The House of Representatives and city councils have all been
swamped by public complaints about land problems," said Nababan,
who is also a member of the National Commission on Human Rights.
Emmy Hafild, an activist at the Indonesian Forum for the
Environment (Walhi) on Friday accused the National Land Agency of
ignoring numerous suggestions and calls made by NGOs to help
handle land complaints.
On a separate occasion, State Minister for Agrarian Affairs
and Chairman of the National Land Agency Soni Harsono said his
office does not hold the ultimate authority to resolve land
problems.
"The public needs to understand the limited ability of the
agency and stop blaming it for things that go wrong," he was
quoted by the Antara news agency as saying on Saturday.
"The land agency alone cannot solve land problems, but has to
cooperate with other agencies," he said, adding that cooperation
is not easy when there is a lack of coordination between the
agency and the ministries of home affairs, forestry and
transmigration. (16)