Villagers demand assistance from PTPN VII

Bahrul Ilmi Yakub, The Jakarta Post, Palembang

Thousands of villagers held a demonstration at the offices of the state-owned sugar plantation company PTPN VII in Ogan Komering Ilir, some 75 kilometers south of the provincial capital on Wednesday, demanding that management carry out social development programs in villages near the plantation.

The villagers thronged the offices but failed to meet with management.

The demonstrators threatened to occupy the plantation should the management ignore their demands, which they say they have been making for many years.

Arhandi T.B., an activist who was involved in organizing the demonstration, said the villagers were very disappointed with the state-owned company, which they claim has discriminated against both them and local businesspeople.

"The sugar plantation has been operating for more than ten years but it has failed to carry out any social development programs to help better the lot of the local people. All the projects in the plantation has been given to businesspeople from Palembang and Jakarta, while most of the people employed who come from here are on very low pay. This policy is not in line with regional autonomy," he said.

Before the demonstration, the villagers also staged a rally at the Kayu Agung legislative council, which they considered as not being proactive in fighting on behalf of the villagers.

According to Arhandi, the demonstrators, who mostly hailed from ten villages located near the sugar plantation, have long been demanding that PTPN VII establish social facilities such as schools, mosques, public health centers and sports facilities, but had received little in the way of a positive response from management.

"This plantation has not made any contribution to the social development program in the ten villages. The management has recruited most of the employees from other regions," he said.

Meanwhile, Yahya Bahar, a member of PTPN VII's board of commissioners, pledged to bring the villagers' demands up at the next management meeting, adding that the villagers should avoid violence in fighting for their demands.

"This state-owned plantation undertaking is protected by law and the villagers have no right to occupy the plantation. Nothing will be achieved if the villagers resort to violence in fighting for their interests," he said.

He added that there was no compulsion on the part of management to provide what the demonstrators were demanding.

Bahar regretted the demonstration, saying it had been engineered by certain parties who were only out for their own interests.

"We're going to submit an official complaint about the demonstration to the local police and ask them to investigate whether certain parties were exploiting the villagers so as to hold the state-owned company to ransom," he said.

He added that the state-owned company contributed financial assistance every year to the local administration to help finance development programs in the regency.