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Concrete solutions yet to emerge in Rembang dispute
Concrete action: A number of farmers stage a demonstration by burying their feet in concrete blocks in front of the State Palace on Monday to protest the construction of a cement factory in Kendeng, Central Java
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span class="inline inline-center">Concrete action: A number of farmers stage a demonstration by burying their feet in concrete blocks in front of the State Palace on Monday to protest the construction of a cement factory in Kendeng, Central Java. The farmers say the factory’s operation will have a negative impact on the environment.(JP/Jerry Adiguna)
About 50 farmers from the Kendeng Mountain area in Central Java braced themselves in thin raincoats as they continued their eight-day protest in front of the State Palace under heavy rain on Monday afternoon.
With their feet cemented into blocks, they maintained their protest against the establishment of a cement factory they firmly believe would disrupt the environment of the land on which they rely for their livelihood.
Since last Monday, the farmers in the Mount Kendeng Community Network (JMPPK) have been staging a protest in the same place to reject the issuance of a new environmental permit for state-owned cement producer PT Semen Indonesia. They also demand to meet President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to voice their objection directly to him. This is not the first time the farmers have staged a protest. In April last year, nine female farmers from Rembang, Pati and Grobogan in Central Java around the Kendeng Mountain also cemented their feet, which began a protest that attracted a nationwide spotlight and became an iconic example of farmers’ resistance in Indonesia.
Several representatives had met with the President in August last year when they expressed their objections to the cement plant they feared would compromise the quality of the water in the mountain area.
The 50 farmers also garnered more support from activists and other farmers from several places in the country.
On Monday, three women and one man were met by the President’s chief of staff, Teten Masduki, at the palace compound. The mounting support has made Jokowi decide to order a delay of the inauguration of the controversial Semen Indonesia factory, the construction of which has been completed. The decision contradicted an announcement by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno who said on Friday that she expected Jokowi to officially open the new Rp 4.9 trillion factory in April.
After a two-hour meeting with representatives of the Kendeng community, Teten said Jokowi would make a final decision about solving the prolonged dispute after the Environment and Forestry Ministry finishes its environmental analysis of Semen Indonesia’s mining plans.
“The strategic environmental assessment is expected to be completed in late March,” he said.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of farmers and ordered Semen Indonesia to cease its activities in October last year. Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo revoked the permit on Jan. 16, but issued a new environmental permit on Feb. 23.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said her office was currently speeding up the completion of the environmental analysis and expected to issue the results before April.
Siti said the environmental assessment would determine whether the area was a groundwater basin.
“If the assessment finds that there is no underground river flowing in the area then the company is good to go. However, if the analysis finds an underground river then we will have to work on other solutions. I cannot name any of those solutions now as the assessment is still ongoing,” Siti said.
Gun Retno, a farmer from Pati who participated in the meeting said the community was dissatisfied because Jokowi failed to meet them, despite being in the State Palace that day.
“We came here with cemented feet to meet with Jokowi, but to no avail. During our meeting with him on Aug. 2, 2016, he said that there should not be any activities in the region while the environmental assessment was underway, but Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo instead issued a new permit,” Gun Retno said.
The firm’s corporate secretary Agung Wiharto said the company had agreed to postpone the launch to after the originally scheduled operating date in April.
“[The facility] will start commercial operations in either May or June. We are not in a hurry,” Agung said as quoted by kontan.co.id on Monday.
Local farmers have fought against the construction of the factory, claiming that it would compromise the quality of groundwater in the Kendeng karst mountain.
