Minister AHY Asked To Intervene In The Grabbing Of Karet Gardens In Jasinga Bogor

The location of the rubber plantation converted to function in Jasinga District, Bogor Regency (Ist)

BOGOR - The rubber farmers asked ATR/BPN Minister Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) to intervene on suspicion of grabbing 50 hectares of land by rubber plantations managed by residents in Wirajaya Village, Jasinga District, Bogor Regency, West Java by PT Perusahaan Perkebunan Djasinga.

Representative of Karet Farmers in Wirajaya Village, Egis Agung Malvinas, revealed that residents of the land management by rubber plantations in his now old village feel restless about the fate of them and their families.

The reason is, their expertise is only rubber farming, hereditary from their parents. They, said Egis, felt there was no power because BPN turned out to give SHU to other parties allegedly for a group of tourism projects that would make noise, without the knowledge of those who used to work on land by conventional and environmentally friendly farming.

"Residents can't stop thinking, the grabbing of land, the confiscation of land rights by this workshop has gone very smoothly so far, without thinking about small rubber plantation farmers in the village," said Egis., Sunday 7 July.

One of the rubber farmers in Wirajaya Village, Umar (68 years) complained of fear in his garden covering an area of 30,000 m2 because it was closely guarded by the authorities and PT Perusahaan Perkebunan Djasinga. In addition, his livelihood, which has been lost since the project, has razed his garden with soil dust every day.

Umar, who claims to be a native of Cigelung Village, RT09/RW01, Wirajaya Village, Bogor Regency and has worked on rubber plantations on state land that were derived from his father, never felt that he had handed over his work to PT Perusahaan Perkebunan Djasinga.

"That's right, that's right. We lost our daily lives. That's right, I haven't been to the garden for a few days, I'm afraid," said Umar.

Another rubber farmer who is still in the same village as Umar, namely Odih (45) years in Cigelung Village RT10/RW01, Wirajaya Village, Jasinga District. Bogor Regency claimed that the land caused by its rubber plantation covering an area of 10,000 m2 suffered the same fate.

"My livelihood was lost, because my land was taken by PT Djasinga, I didn't go to the gardens because I was afraid," he said.

Chairman of the Defenders of Jasinga Farmers, Ahmad Sobari who is also the chairman of BEM throughout Bogor said, as many as 16 rubber farmers and others in Wirajaya Village and dozens of others in 8 other villages in Jasinga District that manage thousands of hectares of rubber plantations cannot do anything when the land is claimed by PT Perusahaan Perkebunan Jasingan and is now missing livelihoods.

Allegations of confiscation of land under rubber management were carried out by PT Perusahaan Perkebunan Djasinga in 9 villages, Jasinga District, Bogor Regency. Among them are in the Cimapag block and the Citalahab Narambang block, Wirajaya Village, Jasinga District sold to the United December Foundation, a collection of retired TNI/Polri officers and has begun to be flattened for projects that residents have not clearly known.

Achmad Sobari emphasized that the BEM alliance throughout Bogor asked for land grabbing cases in 9 villages, Jasinga District, Bogor Regency, to be the attention of the Minister of ATR/BPN Agus Harimurti Yudhoyo because it was suspected that there were irregularities in the certificate of business rights (HGU) issued by BPN.

According to him, this problem has been protracted and has disturbed dozens to hundreds of rubber farmers, because they did not get any explanation from the Bogor Regency ATR/BPN office regarding the basis for issuing the HGU certificate.

In fact, he said, residents never felt that they had given their right to transfer their rubber plantation land to PT Perusahaan Perkebunan Djasinga.

"We ask Minister AHY to intervene, residents need an iron helping hand to resolve this alleged land mafia," said Achmad Sobari.

Achmad Sobari conveyed that the BEM alliance throughout Bogor is ready to move to hold a massive demonstration if the government, in this case the Ministry of ATR/BPN, does not heed the issue of land from small communities in Jasinga, Bogor Regency.

"We are ready for action if it is not heeded, land for the people, not for the monopoly of the land mafia. Residents need an explanation, but the Bogor Regency BPN is reluctant," he said.

The attorney for 16 plantation farmers in Wirajaya Village, Jasinga District, Bogor Regency, Rusli Efendi, added that he found irregularities in the HGU letter number: 1-HGU-BPN RI-2008 which was given to PT Perusahaan Perkebunan Djasinga and is now purchased or transferred to the Desember Satu Foundation.

Moreover, he continued, there have been reports of claims from PT Perusahaan Perkebunan Djasinga and Yayasan Desember Satu that they already have a certificate of ownership (SHM). However, when asked for evidence, it never showed. The BEM Alliance in Bogor has also visited the Bogor Regency ATR/BPN office, but did not get a clear answer.

"The oddity is in the period of business licenses from 1999 to 2008, because the HGU was only issued in 2008, then 9 years of bulging? And when did residents divert their work? Residents feel that they have never released even a piece of state land that they manage, this country has rules, there is law, don't take it. Moreover, suddenly it becomes SHM," he said.

Rusli efendi revealed that even from PT Perusahaan Perkebunan Jasinga or Yayasan Desember Satu did not negotiate well with residents. They, said Leo ephendi, were only lured by Rp. 10,000 per meter as a purchase/replacement loss/rohiman for the transfer of land management.

That number, Rusli efendi said, is certainly not enough for the lives of garden farmers whose livelihoods are lost.

"Pak AHY, who has no doubt about his statesman, his firmness, is expected to be able to carefully see the residents of the farmers of Curug Village, Jasinga, sorry sir, they were victims by the alleged land mafia working here," he said.