Hasyim Widhiarto, Mesuji, Lampung – As their land dispute with a local plantation company remains unresolved, residents from Mesuji regency, Lampung, are struggling not only to make ends meet but also to have their basic rights upheld.
Nengah Sugandra, 41, a resident of Moromoro village, located just across from PT Silva Inhutani Lampung's plant in the Register 45 area, said the villagers had received discrimination from the local administration during the past several years after the company accused the residents of illegally occupying its land.
"Following the company's complaint, the Mesuji administration rejected all applications for ID cards, birth certificates and other legal documents, applied for by the villagers," said Nengah on Monday. "The administration even refused to provide electricity although the nearest power pole is located only 100 meters from the village," he said.
Occupied for the first time by impoverished residents from nearby regencies in the late 1990s, the 2,400-hectare village is now inhabited by around 1,300 families that make ends meet by growing cassava, rubber trees and vegetables.
Moromoro residents started to find their relationship with Silva heating up in 2006 after the oil palm and natural rubber plantations company claimed their land as part of the company's 43,000-hectare plantation area. The villagers, however, have been fighting back since then, claiming the land they live on used to be idle. Representatives from Silva could not be reached for comment.
Around 10 kilometers from Moromoro, native residents of the Megou Pak tribe experienced a string of physical confrontations with Silva workers, also due to land disputes.
Andi Yendra, 35, a Megou Pak community leader, living in Tunggal Jaya hamlet, said since the early 2000s Silva had ordered police officers to evict thousands of local farmers living on the tribe's sanctuary land, claiming that the land the residents lived on actually belonged to the company.
The latest eviction took place on Sept. 8, forcing Andi and hundreds of other residents to live under makeshift tents.
"I once felt completely desperate about our fight against the company. However, I regained my spirit after our representatives recently brought the case to the House of Representatives and successfully won media attention," he said. "A couple of days ago, we even collected money from the evictees to buy a television and satellite antenna so that we can watch the progress of our case."
Moromoro residents and Megou Pak tribesmen who live across Mesuji regency are among the victims of alleged human rights abuses by law enforcers hired by the plantation companies. A Megou Pak tribesman was killed, allegedly by armed, private security personnel in Pelita Jaya hamlet late last year.
Reports of the abuses came to light after community representatives, assisted by former military territorial assistant Maj. Gen. (ret.) Saurip Kadi, presented video footage of gruesome killings of their colleagues in front of several police officers.
The Mesuji advocacy team claims that at least 32 people have been killed since 2008 as part of the alleged brutal violence between Mesuji villagers and palm oil companies.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed last week the Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana to lead a joint fact-finding team to investigate the allegations into the killings.
One of the members of the advocacy team, Dedi Mawardi, who attended a meeting with the government's fact-finding team, said the violence centered on the existence of civilian, private security, locally known as Pam Swakarsa, which was allegedly formed by the law enforcers and the plantation companies.
"The root causes are partly due to existence of the Pam Swakarsa. The government should have the courage to dissolve it and bring the perpetrators to justice," he said. (rpt)