Bogor – Hundreds of farmers took to the streets yesterday in this West Javanese hill town and in Jakarta to protest against the taking of their land by real estate and golf course developers, witnesses said.

"Give the land back to the people," read posters carried by some 200 members of the Indonesian Farmer's Solidarity (STI) in Bogor, who also accused former President Suharto of kicking them off their land to build a cattle ranch. The group picketted the sub-district governor's office in drizzling rain.

The protesters claimed that in 1974, former President Suharto had forced farmers off their land with little compensation to build the sprawling "Tapos" cattle ranch near Bogor.

In Jakarta, about 60 policemen and 30 soldiers watched in the rain as 300 farmers danced and sang to the beat of traditional drums in front of the Parliament complex. It was the second consecutive day of farmers' protests. On Wednesday, similar protests were staged in Sumatra and Bali.