TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The indigenous people of Merauke held an audience with Committee II of the South Papua Regional Government Council at the Merauke District Office, Papua, on Monday, December 2, 2024. In the audience, the indigenous people who are part of Solidarity Merauke firmly rejected the National Strategic Project (NSP) for new rice fields and sugar cane plantations.

"We from the Malind Indigenous People Forum who reject the affected districts, Tabonji district, Kimaam district, Ilwayab district, Tubang district, Ngguti district, and Eligobel district," said the Chair of the Kondo Digul Simon Petrus Balagaize Indigenous People Forum in a press conference, quoted from the live broadcast of the Papua Legal Aid Institute.

Simon said the audience was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Environment. In addition, he said, representatives from PT Global Papua Abadi and PT Jhonlin Group were also present.

"The indigenous people clearly state their rejection of the NSP (National Strategic Project), the first being the plan to print rice fields in the indigenous people's areas of the Maklew and Khimaima tribes, and the second being the self-sufficiency in sugar and bioethanol that will operate in the indigenous people's areas of the Yeinan tribe," Simon said.

In expressing their stance, there are at least five points conveyed by representatives of the indigenous people of Merauke. First, the Merauke NSP policy was issued without agreement with the people based on the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) principle. Second, the Merauke NSP project policy was issued without adequate social and environmental studies.

Thirdly, the indigenous people assess that the government and Jhonlin Group, along with 10 sugar cane and bioethanol plantation companies, have operated tools and resources to evacuate forest areas, savannas, swamps, and peatlands.

"Fourth, that the issuance of business permits is done in a closed manner and suspected collusion, nepotism, unfairness, and monopoly practices have occurred," said Simon. Fifth, they say that military involvement in securing the NSP has created feelings of insecurity and psychological pressure on the village communities.

The indigenous people who are part of Solidarity Merauke also demand that the leadership of the Indonesian Regional Representatives Council urge the President and related ministries to halt the NSP project.

Merauke is projected as one of the locations for the development of Food Production Centre Areas in eastern Indonesia. This project, initiated during Joko Widodo's administration, is aimed at supporting President Prabowo's food self-sufficiency ambition in less than five years.

"This program is aimed at increasing the Crop Index (IP) to reach IP 300 and the productivity of food crops," said Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman, quoted from a written statement on Sunday, 3 November 2024.

Han Revanda contributed to the writing of this article.

Editor's Choice: Papuan Students' Protest in Jogja: Reject Transmigration in Papua

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News