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Rights groups condemn latest clash over Rempang Eco-City project
Rights groups have condemned a clash that erupted on Wednesday between the private security personnel of developer PT MEG and local residents that refuse to leave their land to make way for the Rempang Eco-City development project.
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Banners protesting the Rempang Eco-City development project are displayed on a makeshift fence on Dec. 5, 2024, on the outskirts of Sembulang village on Rempang Island, Riau Islands province. Local residents have resisted being evicted from the planned site of the national strategic project (PSN), which is to house a multibillion-dollar glass and solar panel factory. (JP/Fadli)
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ights groups have condemned a mid-week clash that erupted between the security personnel of PT Makmur Elok Graha (MEG), the private company spearheading a national strategic project (PSN) on Rempang Island in Batam, Riau Islands, and local residents opposed to the project.
Dozens of Rempang residents and MEG security officers were involved in a violent brawl on Wednesday in Sembulang Hulu and Sei Buluh villages that left several residents hospitalized.
Andri Alatas, director of the Pekanbaru Legal Aid Institute (LBH Pekanbaru) in Riau, accused the company of violating the law by deploying security officers on Rempang, as it had not obtained the right to manage land (HPL) certificate for the PSN site.
"The company deployed security personnel as a tactic to intimidate and silence residents [opposed to the project]. PT MEG must withdraw all of their security officers immediately," Andri said on Thursday, as quoted by Kompas.co.id.
Through the Batam Free Trade Zone Authority (BP Batam), the company is in the process of obtaining HPL certification for the Rempang PSN from the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry, but the certificate can only be issued after all residents have been evicted from the project site.
Dewi Kartika, secretary-general of the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA), has strongly condemned Wednesday's clash, demanding that the government cancel the development project on Rempang and the police to arrest all parties responsible for the violence.
"In the past two years, PT MEG has committed various acts of intimidation and aggression against Rempang residents," Dewi said in a statement on Wednesday.
