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Riau Islands residents clash with police, military against plans for new eco-city
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Police officers check a blocked road on Sept. 8, 2023 on Rempang Island, Riau Islands province. Local residents created a barricade from cut trees to protest a plan to develop the island into a new economic hub, which involves them being evicted from their homes. (Antara/Teguh Prihatna)
R
esidents of Rempang Island in Riau Islands province clashed last week with security forces in a demonstration against plans to develop the island into a new economic hub, which necessitates the eviction of hundreds of families from their homes before the end of the month.
A joint team consisting of around 1,000 members from the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) clashed on Thursday with protesters, who had tried to the stop security forces from setting up posts and marking boundaries for the new development project.
Local people felled trees, burned tires and hurled stones and molotov cocktails on Barelang Batam Bridge, while security forces fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd, according to various news reports.
Following the skirmish, police arrested seven people for allegedly inciting the riot. They have been charged with violating Article 212 of the Criminal Code for assaulting security personnel, which carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.
Batam, Rempang and Galang (Balerang) Police chief Sr. Comr. Nugroho Tri Nuryanto, said on Friday that police have also set up seven security posts throughout the island following the clash.
“We have set up these posts because, from the orders we received from the Batam Concession Agency [BP Batam], Rempang Island must be swept and cleared [of local residents] by Sept. 28,” Nugroho said, as quoted by Kompas.id.
This is because plans to develop the island, which is located near neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, into a new special economic zone called the Rimpang Eco-City are already in motion. Investment in the development of the island is targeted at US$11.5 billion and the project is being spearheaded by PT Makmur Elok Graha (MEG).
