Residents protest land confiscation

JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of residents of Cilegon, West Java, visited the National Commission on Human Rights office Thursday, complaining that their land had been illegally confiscated by state-owned steel manufacturing company PT Krakatau Steel.

Hasan Basri, spokesman of the delegation, told commission members Soegiri and M. Salim that the residents had never sold their land, but that the 14-hectare land area had been claimed by the company.

"We never sold our land and we still have our original land titles. We never received any compensation either," he said.

He said the problem began when local government officials ordered residents in the area to sell their land to the company between 1971 and 1973.

Those who did not abide by the order were shocked to find in 1983 that Krakatau held new titles of ownership on their land from the government, Hasan said.

The residents have pursued legal routes to settle the matter but have failed to date, he said, adding that their lawsuit filed against the firm at the Serang District Court was turned down last August.

The residents then appealed to the West Java High Court, he said. "But our lawyer said the high court also rejected the suit."

Soegiri told the residents to follow legal procedures, saying that the commission could not do much since the case had been brought to court.

"If the case had not yet been brought to court, maybe we could have helped you meet with the company and other parties to discuss the problem," he said. (jun)