Plantations illegally occupied

SEMARANG: As many as 995 hectares of plantation land belonging to the state have been illegally occupied by residents within the last year, an official said.

"These illegal occupations have inflicted a total loss of Rp 6 billion on the state," Nazaruddin Thoha the head of the Central Java Plantations Office said here on Monday.

The occupied land includes cocoa, coffee, rubber, clove and cotton plantations located in several places such as Kebumen and Semarang, he said.

"The illegal occupations seem to have been well organized," he said, citing that the people had no fear of acting openly.

"The motive for the unlawful occupations are their accusations that the plantation office illegally took control of the land which they claim to belonged to their ancestors," Thoha said. "Many of the residents demanded that the plantation office allow them to cultivate the plots."

According to Thoha, such problems must be dealt with in a calm and considered manner. Meetings with local figures and residents have been held.

"Cooperation with the people living around the plantations will be the best solution to help them earn money," he said. (har/sur)