Agrarian Disputes Will Never End

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Residents show their land certificates in a land certificate handover event that was attended by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in Lamongan regency square, East Java, on Thursday (8/3). In the event, 5,750 certificates were handed over to residents in five regencies, namely Sidoarjo, Gresik, Tuban, Lamongan and Bojonegoro.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Many are concerned that the Agrarian Bill (RUUP) had not been drafted with an aim to resolve land disputes, even though land disputes comprise the majority of legal complaints. Establishing an agrarian court has been deemed improper for resolving agrarian disputes that are structural, massive and widespread.

The Agrarian Bill does not take into account structural land management and the resulting economic gap. It addresses agrarian disputes merely through provisions on state ministers facilitating mediation and on the establishment of an agrarian court.

Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) head of knowledge management Siti Rakhma Mary Herwati said in Jakarta on Monday (16/9/2019), “Agrarian disputes and gaps created by structural land control are fundamental agrarian issues. The RUUP shows no good will towards resolving disputes. Resolution, in the form of mediation and the establishment of agrarian courts, remains unclear.”

Disputes generally arise due to land grabbing for developing factories, mines, plantations and forestry companies that sometimes involves state bodies.

The Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA) recorded 1,771 cases of agrarian dispute from 2015 to 2018.

In 2018, the YLBHI tackled 300 cases of agrarian dispute in all sectors. The Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA) recorded 1,771 cases of agrarian dispute from 2015 to 2018.

National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Sandrayati Moniaga stressed, “The problem is that the this RUUP ignores the social reality [that] the existing Agrarian Law and all related laws caused overlap in land issues. These disputes must all be resolved first, before issuing new regulations on the right to cultivate [HGU], the right to manage [HPL] and other land rights. Land must be free of disputes.”

Land registration

National Land Agency (BPN) spokesperson Yagus Suyadi said that the RUUP was intended to be a bridge before enacting a new and more comprehensive law for resolving agrarian disputes.

Yagus added that all land must be categorized and registered, if possible, by 2025. Land disputes must be resolved.

The first step was to register all land in Indonesia, he said, and that agrarian cases were a matter for the courts.

The reasons for the legal complication in resolving agrarian disputes include a lack of the BPN’s transparency in HGU data.

“So, this [RUUP] can be the bridge [to new regulation]. After the law is passed, the technical regulations can be prepared. We have prepared the ministerial regulation. The House of Representatives and the government have committed and agreed to this matter,” said Yagus.

The BPN’s records show 3,000-4,000 outstanding cases of land dispute. “We can sort this after the registration is complete. We have identified that private disputes over land are not always with the BPN. It can be with regional administrations or legal entities [companies]. Once it becomes a court case, the land’s [ownership] history can be opened. However, we will prioritize resolution through non-litigation,” he said.

Settling land disputes takes time and can be complicated. According to Rakhma, only three out of 30 cases that were reported in 1998 had been resolved, respectively in 2009, 2013 and 2015.

The reasons for the legal complication in resolving agrarian disputes include a lack of the BPN’s transparency in HGU data. Individual landowners may face private companies as well as various state agencies in land disputes.

(ISW)