Thousands of farmers protest new land decree

Thousands of farmers protest in the streets, carrying a large banner reading, "Land reform or SBY (President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) resign", during a rally in Jakarta. During the protest, President Susilo's convoy drove past the police cordon guarding the protesters.

They protested on Wednesday against controversial new land regulations that allow the government to acquire land for public development projects at a price determined by the taxable value of the land instead of the market price.

The protesters, mostly farmers from West Java, started their rally outside the Merdeka Palace and continued on to the nearby Supreme Court and Constitutional Court.

They later marched to the House of Representatives before dispersing peacefully.

"We demand that Presidential Regulation No. 36/2005 on land be revoked and the land ownership system be reformed so as to give justice for the people," said protest organizer Saiful Bahri from the Pasundan Farmers' Association (SPP).

He said the land regulation could create a new source of problems that would undermine the interests of farmers.

The protesters also questioned the definition of "public interest" as stated in the regulation, which they said could be easily manipulated in the interests of private developers.

Another protest coordinator Muhammad Nurdin, who is the Indonesian Farmers' Alliance (API) secretary general, was quoted by Antara as saying the new land regulation was an "extension of the hand of economic capitalists" to control the life of the people.

Earlier, human rights and environmental activists voiced their objections to the new regulations, saying it was liable to abuse due to the obscure definition of public interest.

Similar protests also took place in South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi on Wednesday.

However, the government has insisted that it will not revoke the regulation.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said the mounting demonstrations against the new land decree flared up because people had been traumatized by past experience, where authorities evicted landowners on the pretext of the public interest, but in the end the land was used for commercial buildings, such as malls.

"I see it as a trauma from the past authoritarian rule," he said, responding to the protests. -- JP