Tapos farmers protest treatment at hands of police

JAKARTA (JP): Representatives of farmers from Cibedug, near Tapos, Bogor, visited the National Commission on Human Rights on Tuesday, complaining of torture by police officers the previous day at former president Soeharto's Tri-S Tapos ranch.

According to the 25 representatives of the 300 farmers, the police officers armed with guns and rattan sticks injured some of the farmers and their supporters when trying to disperse a crowd of people who insisted on remaining at the site to protect their crops.

"At least two people, farmer Yakub and student Idil, suffered serious head injuries," representative Doni, who claimed to be the farmers' spokesman, told commission members Baharudin Lopa and Soegiri who received the group.

Yakub, he said, was still vomiting because of the injuries.

"We don't have the money to take him to hospital for further treatment," he added.

Dozens of others were lightly injured by the police officers and employees of PT Rejo Sari Bumi, the company that manages the ranch, Doni said.

"One of my friends was even threatened with a gun by a police officer," he said.

Six people, including Yakub, Idil, two other farmers and two students from the privately run Pakuan University, were taken for questioning to the Bogor Police station, he said.

The rest of the farmers left after the six leaders were taken away out of fear that they two would be arrested.

Threat

Doni quoted the six as saying that police interrogators threatened them during the questioning that they would be jailed if they insisted on continuing to occupy the land.

"All of them were released later in the evening," he added.

Monday's incident started in the morning when 300 farmers packed the site following a tip-off that Rejo Sari Bumi planned to bulldoze the farmer's crops at the site, he said.

According to Doni, the farmers had planted banana trees, cassava and other crops on about 70 hectares of the 751-hectare ranch.

At about 1 p.m., three trucks of police officers arrived at the site and asked the farmers to peacefully leave the plot, he recalled.

When the latter party refused to meet the police demand, the two sides instantly became involved in what proved to be a one- sided clash, Doni said, but didn't add whether the farmers injured any of the officers.

According to the farmers, they were allowed to farm the empty plot following a verbal agreement with the ranch manager, identified only as Made, reached in September, he said.

In response to the farmers' request, Lopa told the farmers that his office would soon send letters to the firm and other related parties about the matter.

The farmers visited the commission in July to ask for support for their effort to regain the land which they accused Soeharto of appropriating illegally.

They also asked to be allowed to plant on the ranch's fallow land while preparing their legal case to regain the land.

Rejo Sari Bumi first began to operate in the area in 1974 to breed high-quality livestock. A number of Soeharto's children own shares in the ranch management company.

After Soeharto resigned on May 21, dozens of local residents raided the ranch and staked out land claims. (jun)