West Sumatra Police Pocket Identity Of Eight Agitators In Demo Warga Air Bangis

The Head of the West Sumatra Regional Police (Polda) Inspector General Pol Suharyono confirmed that he had pocketed the identities of eight agitators at the Air Bangis demonstration which lasted for six consecutive days in front of the West Sumatra Governor's Office (West Sumatra).

"We suspect that someone is riding a demonstration by the people of Air Bangis, we have pocketed their identities. This is continuing to be investigated," said West Sumatra Regional Police Chief Inspector General Suharyono in Padang, as quoted from Antara, August 12.

The Regional Police Chief said that at least eight people were suspected of being agitators at the demonstration that lasted for six consecutive days in Padang, to be precise in front of the West Sumatra Governor's office. The eight people are suspected of being the parties who control oil palm land in the Air Bangis area, West Pasaman, which incidentally is a state-owned forest.

In fact, they are said to have dared to fund the demonstration so that the discourse of the National Strategic Project (PSN) would not be realized, because if the project occurred it would threaten the land they control.

"Eight of these people control land with varying areas, some are 750 hectares, twenty hectares, up to a minimum of seven hectares," he said.

The police suspect that they are the ones who play behind the scenes, because they are worried that if the National Strategic Project, the land being controlled must be returned to the state.

In fact, continued Suharyono, the National Strategic Project launched by the government is still in the form of proposals.

He also mentioned that his status is state-owned because since 1921 he has become a protected forest area, and is in accordance with statutory regulations.

According to him, so far the state has given flexibility to the community to work on and harvest palm oil there because the area has been claimed since 1975 and 1985.

"The important thing is, who works on state-owned land, go ahead. Then the proceeds are sold to cooperatives with a 70 percent agreement for farmers, and 30 percent for cooperatives," he explained.

It's just that over time, he continued, there are parties who prohibit the public from selling palm oil products to cooperatives under the pretext that they have fostered palm oil from scratch and paid in advance.

Suharyono emphasized that the eight people he mentioned were immigrants and not Air Bangis residents, they came every six months to billow the residents' crops.