Thousands of residents in Riau province’s palm oil belt protested against the takeover of their plantations by the government’s forestry task force, an organiser said.
The task force, which includes military personnel and state prosecutors, has this year launched a crackdown on palm oil plantations they say have been running illegally in forest areas.
Around 3.7 million hectares of plantations have been seized, with nearly half transferred to the nascent state-run firm Agrinas Palma Nusantara, transforming it into the world’s largest palm oil company by land size.
At a rally near the local prosecutor’s office in the provincial capital of Pekanbaru on Thursday, around 2,800 protesters called on the task force and Agrinas to halt all their operations in Riau and explain the legal basis of the takeover, said Abdul Aziz, secretary general of Kommari, a coalition of Riau residents.
“Our hope is they first make sure who has the right to the lands. They can’t just seize lands that we have cultivated for years, for decades,” Aziz said in a phone interview.
Agrinas’ vice chief executive Kusdi Sastro Kidjan said Agrinas will continue its activity in Riau and other provinces across the country while maintaining good corporate governance. — Reuters
