Sherr Rinn | Solidaritas.net, Jakarta – A mass group calling itself the People’s Movement for Agrarian Reform marched from Istiqlal Mosque to the Presidential Palace celebrating Farmers Day, Wednesday (24 / 9-2014). According to one of the orators, Kent Yuriansyah, the masses were demanding the implementation of agrarian reform as a priority agenda of the newly elected government.
“Agrarian Reform is the main way to realizing the ideals of the Republic’s Proclamation 1945, to the independency and sovereignty of this nation,” he said.
Masses carrying banners, posters and placards containing their demands. “Lower food prices”, “take police guard from agrarian conflict area”, “abolishes MP3EI” and “forms of agrarian ministry” is a variety of charges.
Along 10 years under the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), deprivation occurs in many agrarian resources such as land, forests, gardens, mines, oil and gas, and marine waters that were once managed by the people, then taken over by the company (corporation).
Data Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA) said 1,391 agrarian conflicts occur in an area of 5.7 million hectares over the 10 years of SBY’s leadership. This conflict resulted in loss of 553 wounded, 110 officers were shot, 70 people were killed and 1,354 go to jail.
To end that, the crowd urged the new government of Jokowi-JK:
- Run the genuine agrarian reform agenda as a priority of the government.
- To end the entire conflict caused by Agrarian liberalization and land-grabbing practices completely and thoroughly to form the Executive Agency for Agrarian Reform and Agrarian Conflict Resolution.
- Revoke the Master Plan for the Acceleration of Indonesian Economic Development (MP3EI) through Presidential Decree number 32 of 2011 about MP3EI.
- Refuse and against the oil price hikes.
- Reject legalization of RUU about Land that it might replace BAL 1960.
- Cancel the agenda of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 and the liberalization agenda in Indonesia under multilateral and bilateral agreements which is currently applied in Indonesia.
- We declare, if the elected president, and all levels of government repeating what has been done by the former government in the field of agriculture, than the future government has betrayed the people expectation and we are ready to fight because we consider it to be the main enemy of the people. However, the People’s Movement for Agrarian Reform will be fully support if the government really wanted to run a genuine agrarian reform.
