Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Malang – The Navy's Eastern Fleet has locked horns with villagers once again, challenging them to either peacefully resolve a dispute over land in South Malang, or take the case to court.
Eastern Fleet spokesman Lt. Col. Tony Syaiful said villagers occupying a section of the Marine Corps' training field in Purboyo, South Malang, should resolve the case legally or seek mediation through the local land office, as both sides seek a permanent solution to the dispute that first flared up in 1965.
"If the villagers want, they can come here. I assure them the Naval Base of the Surabaya Marine Base is ready to welcome representatives from Pagak, Bantur and Donomulyo villages who want a peaceful solution to the dispute. We too want a win-win solution," he told The Jakarta Post here Thursday.
Tony admitted the land dispute was similar to that in Alas Tlogo, in which four villagers were shot dead in June 2006 after the government gave their land to the Navy for use as a combat training area.
Thirteen marines were later convicted by a military tribunal in Surabaya over the killings and given four-year jail terms and dismissed the armed forces.
In this latest case, residents claim they inherited the 4,800 hectares of land from their ancestors, while the Navy claims it has official documents proving its ownership of the land, which was appropriated by the government to build a combat training center.
Part of the land is already documented, but the rest still has no title deeds, Tony said, blaming the National Land Agency (BPN) for the difficulties in applying for the deeds.
On Wednesday, hundreds of villagers from Pagak and Bantur districts protested at the Malang administration's compound, demanding a thorough investigation into the demolitions of their homes on the disputed land, allegedly committed by soldiers from the nearby Navy combat battalion.
Mahmud, a resident of Pagak village, said the demolitions took place last month after villagers failed to pay the soldiers fees of between Rp 1 million and Rp 3 million.
Rosidi, a resident of Karangsari village in Bantur district, added villagers had been barred from building new homes or communal facilities, or connecting their homes to the power grid.
"Even collecting firewood for cooking is prohibited in the ex-plantation area," he said.
Tony denied allegations the Navy ordered the demolitions or extorted the villagers, adding the construction of new homes had been banned pending the resolution of the dispute.
"If the construction of new buildings continues, the dispute will get more complicated, and neither side wants that," he said.
Villagers still grow plants on the land. The regency legislative council has on several occasions attempted to mediate a solution to the dispute, but to no avail.