Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
The Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) evaluates the President’s promise Joko Widodo related to the implementation of the agrarian reform agenda is not serious. This is because, over the course of 6 years, KPA has recorded that many activists, farmers, and other residents have been arrested in connection with this agrarian conflict.
The Secretary General of KPA, Dewi Kartika, said that in the 6 years period there were 2,291 agrarian cases in all provinces.
“We view that this promise has not been taken seriously. During the last 6 years (2015-2020), there have been 2,291 eruptions of agrarian conflicts in all provinces,” Dewi said in an official statement, Wednesday (15/12).
According to Dewi, KPA’s critical note was at the same time responding to Jokowi’s response to a speech by the Deputy Chair of the MUI, Anwar Abbas, who said that 1 percent of the Indonesian population controlled 59 percent of Indonesia’s land. Jokowi then again conveyed the promise of Agrarian Reform.
According to Dewi, the conflict was dominated by the plantation sector due to the Hak Guna Usaha (HGU). In fact, cases of agrarian conflicts in 2020 increased by 28 percent compared to the previous year.
“Thousands of farmers, indigenous peoples, and agrarian activists were arrested and experienced violence in areas of plantation agrarian conflict,” said Dewi.
According to Dewi, the source of structural imbalances and agrarian conflicts in Indonesia is that plantation corporations control land on an extraordinary scale and are facilitated by the government through the issuance, extension, and renewal of HGUs. In addition, there is omission of the abandonment of HGU.
Dewi conveyed this HGU issue to be a big housework in the last six years. The community, especially farmers, farm laborers, indigenous peoples, and the landless poor await the solution of this issue.
“Agrarian conflicts due to HGU/HGB have become a big homework at this time, which have been waiting for completion since 6 years ago,” said Dewi.
Dewi also said that the control of abandoned HGU/HGB lands should have been carried out since the beginning of the government and became a priority. The continued neglect of this issue, said Dewi, is the cause of land inequality in Indonesia.
Dewi also criticized the area of land redistribution that was planned during the Jokowi era to drastically decrease to 400,000 hectares. The implementation of this program, said Dewi, was unclear and stuck.
“During the SBY administration, the Head of BPN RI had released the potential for abandoned land in Indonesia covering an area of about 7 million hectares and was promised to be the object of agrarian reform,” said Dewi.
Furthermore, Dewi also views Jokowi’s political statements as if they show that the President is the owner of the land. Jokowi seems to be able to just accept the submission of land requests on a large scale, as long as the applicant has visibility study.
According to him, this is a crucial issue because the party who will get the land in order is the group of investors who master technology.
“This means that the business elite, large business entities, political elites will again monopolize the land. If the statement is carried out, it will again strengthen the condition of the inequality in the agrarian structure of the country,” said Dewi.
Dewi also criticized Jokowi’s plan to collect all the abandoned land in the Land Bank scheme. Because, Agrarian Reform in the Land Bank scheme, he said, is a ‘candy’ or part of the Copyright Law.
Therefore, KPA strongly suspects that the Land Bank scheme is not for small people but for business purposes and is in favor of big investors.
“Agrarian Reform should not be aligned with the land acquisition process for business orientation and big investment,” said Dewi.
Previously, Jokowi confirmed that there was inequality in land ownership in Indonesia. Jokowi then said that the government was returning 12 million hectares of land to the community.
Jokowi said the government would also set up a land bank and would take over the land that was not used by the community.
On this occasion, Jokowi also said that his party was ready to accept requests from people who needed very large amounts of land by taking into account clear proposals.
“If there are ladies and gentlemen who need a very large amount of land, please tell me, I will find it, I will prepare it, how much? Ten thousand hectares, not square meters, hectares, fifty thousand hectares? But with a calculation A visible proposal means that there is a clear visibility study of what the land will be used for…I will give it,” Jokowi said at the Second Islamic Economic Congress, broadcast live on the OFFICIAL TVMUI Youtube channel, Friday (10/12).
(iam/DAL)
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