Theresia Sufa, Bogor – A man was shot with a rubber bullet and at least three people were injured Monday in a battle between military officers and residents of Cikoleang in Rumpin district, Bogor.

Forty-year old Asep was shot in the neck with the rubber bullet. Three others, including a 40-year-old woman, Neneng, and a 14-year-old student, Rosita, were beaten by military officers trying to chase away angry protesters.

Two other residents passed out during the protest. All of the victims are being treated at the Assobirin hospital in Tangerang.

Local residents were initially protesting the takeover of a 1,000-hectare plot of land in the area by the Air Force, which plans to turn the fields and plantations into a military training ground.

According to an eyewitness, Cece, the protest started at around 11 a.m. when four platoons from the Atang Sandjaya military air base came to the village to guard the future training ground. At around noon, local residents gathered in a field not far from the area and headed toward the officers.

Some three hours later, what started as a verbal battle erupted in chaos as officers fired warning shots into the air, causing panic among the protesters. The officers responded with more shots, one of which hit the local man, and then beat the protesters to chase them away.

An hour later, some 30 officers swarmed into a residential area, destroying a meeting house belonging to a local farmers' group while searching for the protesters.

Separately, during a meeting of Bogor district heads at the regency council's office, Rumpin district head Ace Supriadi said that the protesting villagers were merely trying to enforce their ownership of the land claimed by the Air Force.

According to Ace, only 36 hectares of land in the area belong to the Atang Sandjaya air base. Military officers claim they hold the rights to around 400 hectares. "We demand that councillors help solve the dispute and pass on the issue to the House of Representatives," Ace said.

Council commission A member Lalu Suryade agreed to follow up on the issue and inform the House of Representatives about the case.

Meanwhile, Bogor police chief Sr. Comr. Sukrawardi Dahlan said he had ordered local police to calm the protesters and secure the area.