YOGYAKARTA - After 50 years of the stipulation of the Basic Agrarian Law (BAL) marked as a milestone in the agrarian reform in Indonesia, up to now there has not been progress on the community welfare. Recently, many cases over land conflict often occur, such as Mesuji dispute and Bima mining dispute. These are two of the 163 agrarian conflicts that occurred during 2011.
UGM Social Development and Welfare analyst, Drs. Djoko Suseno, S.U, assessed the emergence of land conflict is a result of agrarian reform that does not run properly, because it is only used as a tool of power and interests of regimes, groups and individuals. "It is proven in the field of economic regulation and programs which have been launched by the government. These do not support the achievement of the objectives of agrarian reform, but instead keep the people away from the agricultural sector," Suseno said in Seminar on Development, Agrarian Reform and Welfare, organized by the Department of Social Development and Welfare (PSdK) UGM, Thursday (8/3).
Weak regulations on land, according to Suseno, trigger agrarian conflicts. The conflict is not due to the fact that the disputed land has no certificate, but it rather suggests a more complex problem, such as the possession of multiple certificates associated with the right to cultivate, inheritance disputes and civil disputes.
Not only that, the dualism of the source of land law, namely BAL national law and customary law, raises misunderstanding in any land disputes involving customary land or communal land rights. Such cases arise between the private party who uses Land Cultivation Rights Title or Industrial Plants Forest or Forest Concession Right which is protected by governmental authority and the rule of indigenous tribes who live in the forest. "The duality of this law creates unclear or different land boundaries with each of them claiming the right," he said.
To address the land issues, Suseno believed there should be a legal certainty administratively that are not related to development program which is used by state and private sector. In addition, the arrangement takes fuller possession of the land, no longer by simply setting up the boundaries and area measurement.
Meanwhile, UGM agrarian researcher, Drs. Soetomo, M. Si, said the agrarian reform policy through the BAL and the green revolution carried out since the 1960's was considered less successful in overcoming poverty, because BAL is still limited to the policy on paper. "There is no consistent and significant effort to implement it," he said.