Palu (25/1/2024), HuMa Indonesia Association, Bantaya Association, and YMP Central Sulawesi organized a Multi-stakeholder Seminar and Dialogue on Accelerating Agrarian Reform in Central Sulawesi. The dialogue was attended by the Presidential Staff Office, Ministry of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency, National Land Agency, National Human Rights Commission, Assistant I of the Central Sulawesi Governor, Sigi Regent, Representatives of Poso Regent, Regional Government OPDs, Regional and District Government Offices, Provincial National Land Agency Office, Sigi and Poso Land Office, Sigi and Poso Agrarian Reform Task Force, sub-district government, academics, NGOs, as well as village governments and residents of 9 villages in Central Sulawesi.

The dialogue aimed to build synergy among all stakeholders in implementing genuine agrarian reform in Central Sulawesi. The communities of nine villages in Sigi Regency and Poso Regency have long been in communication with the Regent and GTRA for the implementation of agrarian reform in their areas. However, in 2023, the lands planned for agrarian reform were surveyed by the National Land Agency. The Agrarian Reform and Redistribution process on former HGU lands aimed to resolve agrarian conflicts in Sigi Regency could potentially lead to new disputes and agrarian conflicts if the Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning grants Management Rights to the National Land Agency. Similarly, the presence of the National Land Agency in Poso Regency is actually continuing the agrarian disputes and conflicts between the communities and the HGU holders since 1996. The more detailed chronology is as follows:

1. In Poso Regency, the To Pekurehua community, who have inhabited the Napu plateau since prehistoric times, had to face agrarian conflicts when their lands were unilaterally granted HGU under the name of PT Hasfarm Napu in 1996. This conflict was very traumatic for the community, who at that time defended their land until it led to criminalization in the early 2000s. The HGU was later transferred to PT Sandabi Indah Lestari (PT SIL). Even before the PT SIL HGU expired in 2022, communities in 5 villages (Maholo, Kalemago, Watutau, Winowanga, Alitupu) had been in frequent communication with the Regent as the GTRA Chairman to arrange for the return of the land to the community after the PT SIL HGU expired, considering that from the beginning, the community did not recognize the existence of the HGU. The Regent as the GTRA Chairman showed a strong commitment to the community, for example, on December 11, 2022, during the Mobelai Tampo event, the Poso Regency Government stated: “the former PT Sandabi Indah Lestari HGU land that has expired will be returned to the community.” However, it turned out that in 2023, the concerned land was surveyed by the National Land Agency.
2. In Sigi Regency, since 2018, the Sigi Regent, together with GTRA Sigi, had submitted the former PT Hasfarm Holtikultura Sulawesi HGU land as TORA to the Minister of ATR for communal farming for two villages, namely Pombewe and Oloboju. All social preparation efforts, object mapping, subject data collection, and dialogues with the Minister of ATR had been carried out. The Minister had also expressed a commitment to approve the allocation of communal farming land use. The culmination was the determination of subject data through the Sigi Regent’s Decree on December 8, 2022. However, it turned out that in 2023, the concerned land was surveyed by the National Land Agency.

In this dialogue, Sigi and Poso Regencies raised the issue of local government constraints in accelerating agrarian reform due to overlapping regulations with the National Land Agency. “I am not saying whether I agree or disagree with the National Land Agency. But for agrarian reform, we want it to be fast. The GTRA proposes to the National Land Agency, then certificates are issued directly to the community. With the National Land Agency mechanism, it cannot be done directly,” said