Garut residents urge land agency to help settle land dispute

Yuli Tri Suwarni , The Jakarta Post , Bandung | Sat, 05/03/2008 11:14 AM | The Archipelago

Residents of Karangsari village in Garut regency, West Java, urged the National Land Agency (BPN) to settle the legal status of farmland they have used since 1961, and whose ownership is now being contested by a plantation company.

Kusnadi, a representative for the villagers, said the plea was aimed at ending the land dispute between more than 1,000 families and hundreds of youths from an organization allegedly hired to protect the interests of the company and drive the villagers off the land.

A Karangsari resident, Cecep, 27, was injured in the latest spate of clashes that occurred on April 30. He was rushed to the hospital with an open wound on his temple after a group defending the company attacked the villagers.

"We are tired of being intimidated by hoodlums and chased around like thieves. It's time to clarify our position," Kusnadi told The Jakarta Post in a meeting with the Bandung Legal Aid Institute (LBH) on Friday.

Kusnadi said the villagers had lived on the fringes of PT Condong cacao and oil palm estate since 1961. Following a Dec. 16, 1964, land reform redistribution program by the West Java Land Agency, the 270 hectare area was granted to the villagers.

Residents started receiving threats in 1973, when the company extended its plantation area and houses were burned down in an attempt to evict them from the area.

"We have applied for land certificates at the BPN since 1998, or at least to get the right to farm there, but there is still no decision," said Kusnadi.

The attacking mobs, said Kusnadi, have dwindled in number although a few still continue to intimidate the villagers, for instance by pelting them with rocks.

Villagers urged police to handle the case objectively, and claimed to have collected at least 20 arrows as evidence.

"Police have arrested a number of villagers who were blamed for farming within the company's area. They were jailed for eight months in 2000. We wish police would not view it so one-sidedly, but rather review the whole story," said Kusnadi.

Pasaoran Sirait, a lawyer with the LBH, said his office had been handling the case between the villagers and PT Condong since 2003, with the last court hearing on April 1 this year, in which his office and nine villagers asked for a decision on the status of the land from the BPN's West Java office. However, a decision has yet to be issued.

"We will meet the government mediating team and the Garut BPN office on Monday to discuss this issue and to stop the intimidation against the villagers," said Pasaoran.

Some 200 police personnel from the Garut Police who broke up the clashes on Wednesday were withdrawn on Friday. Garut Police operational chief Comr. Ade Nazmulloh said they would not interfere in the case.

"We want to mediate and seek a solution for the villagers and the company. Hopefully, there's a way out," Ade told the Post by phone.

Ade confirmed that police had interrogated three residents believed to have incited a crowd to attack and burn down a security post at PT Condong.

"We are still investigating. It's not yet clear who the perpetrators are," said Ade, adding that police are handling the case carefully to prevent further violence.

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