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round 4,500 squatters who have been living in the Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL) since 1998 will soon be evicted from their illegal settlements.

TNGL head Andi Basrul said the planned eviction would be coordinated with security forces and relevant agencies, including the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police.

Andi said the squatters that had settled within the park had resisted previous eviction attempts and some of them were even armed with sharp weapons.

“The upcoming eviction is the umpteenth attempt as we have repeatedly failed to expel squatters from the park’s area because they always put up a fight, even wielding sharp weapons,” Andi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Evictions began in December 2010 and around 26 families, or 84 people, who were victims of the prolonged Aceh conflict, were relocated to Musi Banyuasin regency in South Sumatra.

Andi said initially residents displaced by the conflict in Aceh resided in the national park, but as time went by, squatters from other regions arrived and also settled there.

He explained many of the squatters had come from Karo and Langkat regencies in North Sumatra, as well as Aceh, and had mingled with earlier residents living there since 1998.

Andi said the areas where the squatters settled were in Sei Minyak, Sei Betung, Sekoci and Barak Induk, all in Langkat regency, North Sumatra.

“The number of squatters living there has reached 4,500 people. They’ve established settlements there,” said Andi.

He added that the national park’s authorities and the police once tried to forcibly evict the squatters from Sei Minyak in Sei Lepan subdistrict, Langkat, but failed because they were challenged by the squatters in the hundreds.

Andi said that ever since the park had been occupied by squatters, illegal logging had been occurring to this day. As a result, he went on, environmental destruction to the park had been increasing because illegal loggers were operating without regulation.

“We estimate the total deforested area of Mount Leuser National Park in Langkat has reached 30,000 hectares,” said Andi.

He added that the rampant illegal logging in the park over the last few years had allegedly involved members of the military.

He cited that last year that park authorities arrested four Army and Navy personnel involved in illegal logging in the park.

On Monday, the Medan Military Tribunal put on trial Chief Corp. Sumardi from the Medan Bukit Barisan Military Command for alleged involvement in illegal logging activities at the park.

Sumardi allegedly collaborated with then TNI member First Corp. Suriono, who had been dismissed from the military for his involvement in domestic violence in 2011.

North Sumatra Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Rina Sari Ginting said police were ready to help the park’s authorities evict squatters if it had become government instruction.

“Whenever we’re needed, we are ready to evict the squatters from the park with consideration of what actions are necessary,” said Rina on Tuesday.

According to Rina, the eviction process should involve all relevant agencies to prevent another failure.

“Synergy must be built so that the eviction can happen efficiently,” said Rina.