Central Java, arrests at Bener dam protests

Tensions high in Purworejo district over a strategic project backed by the Indonesian government, but opposed by the people of the Wadas village, who will lose the land they have always farmed. Local NGOs have offered compensation, but no one has yet explained where they will be able to resettle once they are evicted.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Demonstrations by local communities opposed to the construction of the Bener dam in Purworejo district, Central Java, a mega-project of the Indonesian government, have been forcibly repressed.

Tensions erupted when on 8 February a team of technicians, escorted by a massive deployment of police and military, arrived in the area of the village of Wadas to carry out measurements in view of the opening of an andesite quarry, linked to the construction of the dam.

The security forces responded to the inhabitants' protests by arresting at least 60 adults and four minors. It was only after this action became a national case that those arrested were sent home with apologies from the police chief and the governor of central java for the excessive use of force.

The Bener dam project is dividing the local community. Announced in 2018, the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works intends to irrigate more than 15,000 hectares of rice fields by 2023, improve water supplies especially in the area of Yogyakarta's new international airport, become a source of hydroelectric power and reduce the risk of flooding that often affects the Purworejo and Kulon Progo districts.

On the other hand, however, the quarry will have an impact on an agricultural area, which will see more than 150 hectares of land requisitioned for the quarry alone, to the detriment of the 1,800 or so inhabitants of Wadas village.

Several local NGOs and human rights organisations are siding with the residents, claiming that they have not been given a choice and, although they have been guaranteed compensation, they have no idea where they will be able to settle when they lose the land that is currently their only source of livelihood. They are also concerned about the fate of 28 water sources in the area that would be turned into a quarry.

Despite the protests, the public authorities say they will push ahead with the project. Although - in an attempt to ease tensions - the governor of Central Java Province has assured that due consideration will be given to legal rulings on the project.