Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Pasuruan – A meeting between disgruntled villagers and commander of the Navy's Eastern Fleet Rear Adm. Moekhlas Sidiq on Monday over a disputed plot of land in Pasuran, East Java, ended in a walkout.

Four villagers, including one pregnant women, were shot and killed by Marines last week during an argument over the land, which both the villagers and the Navy claim to own.

More than 100 residents and the heads of 11 villages in the Nguling and Lekok districts left the meeting before it concluded.

As the moderator of the meeting, East Java Governor Imam Utomo asked the disputing parties to wait for the outcome of an appeal submitted by villagers regarding the disputed land.

At the meeting, the parents of two of the victims of Wednesday's shooting became hysterical and fell unconscious. The residents walked out of the meeting when Moekhlas spoke about the Navy's plan to build a war training center on the disputed land.

Moekhlas explained the plan in detail after being asked by Achmad Zubaedi, the speaker of the Pasuruan Legislative Council, about facilities planned to be built on the 3,200-hectare area of land.

When Moekhlas began to explain, the residents loudly voiced their opposition and demanded the land be handed over to them in line with the documents they possessed.

The residents insisted land certificates obtained by the Navy were not issued in accordance with existing procedures and claimed residents had never sold the land to the Navy.

Moekhlas rejected their claim. "It should not be handled like that. If we have to hand over the land certificates to the residents, it should be done through the proper legal processes," Moekhlas said afterwards.

At the meeting, 10 village heads from the area surrounding Alas Tlogo strongly supported calls for the Navy to find a new location for the center. The village heads had previously been reluctant to voice their opinion.

Moekhlas said after the meeting the residents' demands were baseless. "It's wrong of them to ask for the land certificates. We agreed the dispute would be settled via legal channels. But if they claim to be correct, let's just wait for the verdict," he said.

"If in the appeal process we are defeated, we are prepared to leave the area. However, if they lose they have to leave the area," he said.

According to the Navy's plan, an education center and residential facilities will be constructed on the site in addition to the war training center.

Alas Tlogo village head Imam Subnadi said he was disappointed with the result of the meeting, but agreed to wait for the High Court's verdict. "We want to end this problem as soon as possible. We hope within the next two months there will have been a solution to the dispute," he said.