Jakarta – Dozens of villagers on Indonesia's Sumatra island began a protest march Wednesday to demand the release of 76 people arrested in a land dispute, a farmers' union leader said.

The eight-day march is being held after a district court ruled Friday that the 76 residents of Suluk Bongkal village in Riau province would remain in detention as they had been caught occupying land that didn't belong to them.

The resident were arrested after clashes in mid-December in which police fired bullets and tear gas. Two children were reported to have died and hundreds of homes destroyed.

"We are protesting the method used by police to seize the land from villagers who have been staying there for years," said Rinaldi, a leader of Serikat Tani Riau, which is organizing the "Long March" protest.

The villagers of Suluk Bongkal have been disputing the land's ownership with pulpwood supplier PT Arara Abadi since 1996, when the forestry ministry awarded the company rights to develop the area.

Carrying Indonesian flags and banners that said "Sack Riau Police" and "Free 76 Farmers," 38 farmers and activists began the 300-kilometer (187-mile) walk after dawn from Tasik Serai village to Mandiangin village in Riau province in Central Sumatra.

Their last stop would be the provincial police station, the governor's and parliamentary offices in the provincial town of Pekanbaru, Rinaldi said. "We will be passing by 11 to 12 villages, and hope to have 100 more people joining us in this march," he added.