Rancamaya parties summoned by court

Rancamaya parties summoned by court

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Administrative Court demanded the
presence of parties during hearings over a land dispute,
including the Chairman of the National Land Agency.

Lintong O. Siahaan, the chief judge at yesterday's hearing
involving the Rancamaya elite housing estate in Bogor, West Java,
said the Court has the authority to summon the parties if it sees
it necessary.

The Antara news agency reported that Lintong requested the
presence of the Chairman of the Central Office for the National
Land Agency/Minister for Agrarian Affairs Soni Harsono, the
official in charge of Bogor regency land affairs, and the real
estate developer, PT Surya Dutamas Makmur.

The plaintiffs -- Indra Rukmana and Achmad Kowara of PT Teknik
Umum -- must also be present at the next hearing, Lintong said.

"The arguments of both legal representatives have not been
clear and have failed to convince the panel of judges," Lintong
said.

The case was first tried when the owner of PT Teknik Umum, the
late Eddi Kowara, sued the government offices for issuing a land
certificate for a 214-hectare plot on behalf of PT Surya Dutamas
Makmur.

The plaintiffs said PT Teknik Umum had already acquired
ownership rights from the land's previous owners.

Lintong said the summons for the disputing parties is also
aimed to coax them into an out-of-court settlement.

The disputed plot is a housing estate transformed from rubber
estates in the villages of Rancamaya, Teluk Pinang and Cipaku.

In 1994, the developer settled an earlier dispute with more
than 300 farmers who claimed to have been forced into giving up
their land. The farmers were given a total of Rp 153 million in
compensation. (anr)