Plan to dissolve BPN protested

YOGYAKARTA: Some 800 students from the National Land School here staged a protest on Thursday to voice their opposition to suggestions to dissolve the National Land Agency (BPN).

Waving banners and posters, the students protested a statement by State Minister of Regional Autonomy Ryaas Rasyid that it would be better for land matters to be handled directly by the provinces.

"We support reform but we strongly reject the idea of disbanding BPN," the students said.

The National Land School was established by BPN to improve the quality of human resources within the agency.

The students met with the head of the school, Paulus Suryo, and BPN officials, who promised to relay the students' message to the President and the House of Representatives.

"We've only begun restructuring BPN, so why should they scrap it now," the head of the BPN office in Yogyakarta, Suprapto, said. (44/edt)