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span class="inline inline-left">Anarchy rules: Protesters celebrate on a section of fence they tore down from the House of Representatives complex and used to block the nearby toll road in Jakarta on Thursday. Thousands of farmers and students staged protest nationwide, demanding that the government implement land reforms to end widespread conflicts over land ownership.After a series of deadly incidents and demonstrations across the country, which mostly pitted locals against mining and plantation firms backed by the police and military, dozens of protests spun out of control across the country on Thursday, sparking concerns over people taking the law into their own hands.

While a number of religious groups have been free to do as they wished — from blocking streets for mass prayers to raiding bars or clubs anywhere in Indonesia with impunity — Thursday’s protests showed that more people with “legitimate” grievances against injustice, for instance in the management of land resources, will take to the streets in protest unless the government decisively takes action to address the root causes of the conflict.

Problems of land management are not new in the country, and experts have agreed that the government never really settled a number of agrarian conflicts across the country.

Thousands of protesters from Bengkulu, Jember and Pacitan in East Java, Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara and Maluku gathered throughout Jakarta to demand decisive action by the government. In several areas, some protesters disrupted traffic and damaged public facilities as police officers stood idly by.

“I think it is tremendous to see indigenous peoples, workers, farmers, fishermen, village leaders, and many others unite in such huge protests,” agrarian law expert Nur Amalia said.

The mass protests coupled with weak law enforcement — perhaps out of political considerations ahead of the 2014 elections — could gather momentum for massive chaos if problems were not solved soon, she said.

In Jakarta, around 4,500 demonstrators from 77 NGOs held protests at several locations across the city, demanding the government cease all forms of land expropriation throughout the country.

The demonstrations were held in front of the State Palace and the Supreme Court on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, as well as in front of the House of Representatives on Jl. Gatot Subroto, all in Central Jakarta, bringing traffic to a standstill on major thoroughfares.

“We demand the formation of a governmental special committee to resolve all agrarian conflicts in Indonesia,” a protester from the Sundanese Farmers Union, identifying himself as Alex, said.

Residents of Bima in West Nusa Tenggara, Mesuji in South Sumatra, and Tulang Bawang in Lampung, were also present at the demonstration.

The 77 NGOs included the Indonesian Environment Forum, the Indonesian Farmers Union, the Sundanese Farmers Union, the National Students Front, the Congress Alliance of Indonesian Labor Unions, and many others. They united under the banner of the Joint Secretariat of Indonesian People’s Rights Restoration.

At around noon, demonstrators rode dozens of buses toward the House, where another rally was held.

The situation got out of hand when protesters tore down two segments of the building’s front fence, along with several segments of the fence separating Jl. Gatot Subroto and the adjacent toll road. Some of the protesters began to dance on the toll road, causing severe traffic jams.

The stretch of Jl. Gatot Subroto in front of the House was blocked by the police, as it was jam-packed by thousands of protesters, most of whom sat on the street. Only in the evening, after the protests subsided, was the street returned to normal operation.

Nur Amalia said that the government and the House had been mandated by a 2001 People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) provision to resolve all agrarian conflicts in the country.

“However, we have never seen any significant improvements in the past 10 years. On the other hand, the House keeps ratifying bills that conflict with existing regulations,” she said.

She cited the 2009 Law on Minerals, Energy and Coal, which stipulated that owners of land known to have potential deposits should allow their land to be explored and exploited. Refusal from owners may result in imprisonment.

“This clearly contradicts the 1960 Agrarian Law, which states that the state should respect the land owners’ rights over their lands,” she said. (mim)