26-3-2024 (JAKARTA) The indigenous community residing near Nusantara – Indonesia’s ambitious new capital city currently under construction in East Kalimantan – is grappling with the potential risk of eviction. Officials have signalled their intent to demolish homes in the area and seize their land, a move that could undermine President Joko Widodo’s ambitious legacy project.
According to reports from the East Kalimantan branch of the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), hundreds of households in the Sepaku district of East Kalimantan, which falls within the core government area of Nusantara, received letters earlier this month from the new capital’s authority, instructing them to tear down their houses.
The letter, citing non-compliance with the Regional Spatial Planning of the Indonesian Capital City, stated that the buildings in the four Sepaku villages “are considered not in accordance” with the regulations.
This eviction threat swiftly garnered national attention and sparked outcry from human rights groups and opponents of the US$30 billion project, which was initiated by Widodo in 2019.
“The letter from [Nusantara Capital City Authority] not only insults the rights of the Sepaku community, including the rights of the indigenous Balik tribe who live there, but also puts them at risk of losing their place of residence. This step violates the constitutional rights of citizens and the internationally recognised land rights of indigenous communities,” said Usman Hamid, executive director at Amnesty International Indonesia, in a strongly-worded statement.
“Where did the government’s promise, to build the new capital without evictions, go?” he questioned.
The East Kalimantan Coalition of Civil Society, comprising 13 civil groups, vehemently denounced the planned demolition, stating in a statement that “attempts to forcefully remove indigenous peoples under the pretext of violating the New Capital’s Spatial Plan is a form of genocide of Indigenous Peoples”.
As preparations are underway to transition the country’s seat of government from Jakarta to Nusantara before the end of Widodo’s term in October, the outgoing president revealed on February 29 that he planned to work from the new capital as early as “June or July, depending on when the airport and the toll roads will be finished”. Some 6,000 civil servants are scheduled to relocate in July, paving the way for the first Independence Day ceremony in Nusantara on August 17.
However, it appears these preparations are coming at the expense of locals living in the area, who say they were given just seven days to comply with the eviction order in the authority’s letter. They were also invited to a meeting with government officials on March 8 to discuss the letter’s contents. Approximately 200 people, comprising members of the indigenous Paser and Balik tribes, as well as immigrant residents, attended the meeting to protest against the planned demolition, according to Jatam, an environmentalist and human rights group that learned of the meeting from residents.
In the face of widespread outcry over the eviction order, officials were compelled to retract the letter and cancel the planned demolition for now.
“There was no [seven days deadline]. We have recalled the letter, so let’s not talk about it again. There won’t be action [taken] in the month of Ramadan. If there is, we will reach out to the community,” said Alimuddin, the authority’s social, cultural affairs and community empowerment deputy, on March 14.
He further stated that construction would continue, “but the rights of indigenous peoples are protected, there won’t be any arbitrary moves”. Local residents affected by land acquisition will be compensated in the form of payment, land replacement, or resettlement, he added.
However, the official’s statement did little to alleviate the fears of local residents. Elisnawati, a resident in Pemaluan, one of the villages within Nusantara’s first ring – of three rings in the core government area – expressed her anxiety, stating that the project had taken a mental toll on her as she still feared eviction and the lack of a land certificate.
“I have been anxious, I couldn’t sleep well … There’s still a burden on our minds, it’s like waiting for a time bomb, just waiting for it to explode, we’re just waiting when the house we live in will be taken,” the 36-year-old housewife and member of the Balik tribe told This Week in Asia.
Despite not receiving the warning letter, Elisnawati and her mother remain at risk of eviction from their respective houses. In September, when she and her neighbours inquired about the certainty of their land ownership with their subdistrict chief, they were informed that they could not obtain land certificates, “as our lands are part of the new capital’s delineated areas”, she said.
The villagers requested authorities to explain the delineation of the new capital, but “the government cannot even explain what ‘delineation’ is”, Elisnawati lamented.
The mother of four, whose family has lived in the village for three generations, expressed her disagreement with the eviction, stating, “Whatever amount of compensation will be given, it is incomparable to my house … the important thing is I get to stay in my village, my house.”
While Elisnawati considered relocating to her mother’s 10-hectare land in the Riko subdistrict if evicted, she faced further uncertainty as she was told her mother’s land belongs to the government and would be used to support the development of a VVIP airport. Officials plan to transform Riko and three other subdistricts into Nusantara’s satellite cities.
“If the national capital project … disturbs our houses and settlements, is there a point in building a new capital?” she questioned.
Mareta Sari, a spokeswoman for Jatam East Kalimantan, urged the government to “stop the project to open all data and information”.
“The authorities must also show their spatial planning to the people, and use mechanisms that are fair to the people who live there. Second, the government must protect the local community. They are currently confused and anxious if in the near future conflict would occur and evictions would continue,” she said.
Despite the controversy, Jakarta has signalled that the construction will go on, even after the government changes. Last week, president-elect Prabowo Subianto visited the new capital to check on its progress and discuss preparations for the Independence Day ceremony.
Nusantara’s development has attracted controversy since Widodo’s announcement in 2019. Jakarta has promised that only 20 per cent of its construction costs would come from the state budget, with the rest covered by investments, either foreign or domestic. However, as of January, total investments in the project reached only US$3 billion – a tenth of its overall budget – according to the new capital’s authority, raising questions about the project’s feasibility and potential impact on the indigenous communities in the area.
