Traditional land rights

Shocking reports have emerged of mass killings in Lampung after dozens of farmers from Mesuji met with lawmakers on Wednesday and alleged that 30 farmers had been murdered between 2009 and 2011 as part of attempts by a plantation company to evict them from their traditional land.

Muchus Budi R., Solo – Scores of protesters from the group People’s Solidarity Against Violence (Sorak) have condemned the violence that took place during a clash between the Indonesian military (TNI) and Urutsewu farmers in Kebumen regency, Central Java.

Jakarta – Conflicts between the Indonesian military (TNI) and the people shows that internal reform within military as an institution is not fully complete. The security approach, like the era of Suharto’s New Order regime, is still being used by the TNI, particularly when confronted by problems.

Parwito, Kebumen – A video of a clash between the Indonesian military (TNI) and residents of Urut Sewu in the area of the army’s Research and Development Office (Dislitbang) in Kebumen regency is being circulated. Released by the Urut Sewu Kebumen Farmers Advocacy Team (TAPUK), it is an amateur video recording taken by a Kebumen resident.

Parwito, Kebumen – Only 16 percent of the ownership of all the land controlled by the Indonesian military in Indonesia is clear. The ownership of the remainder, 84 percent, is unclear and to this day is still the subject of disputes with local people.

Jakarta – It would be better if the deliberations on the Draft Law on Land Acquisition for Development be delayed while legal uncertainty over the control of land by communities remains unclear.

Jakarta – Agrarian conflicts in palm oil plantation areas – followed by the criminalisation of local residents who object to these palm oil plantations – have in creased two-fold in 2010 compared with 2009.