REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PEKANBARU -- A clash happened between people and employees of palm oil company, PT Tunggal Perkasa Plantations (TPP), a subsidiary of Astra Group. It caused in damage in Indragiri Hulu, Riau on Monday.
"A truck was burned with one double cabin of Mazda car. Some employees houses were also smashed and burned there," Community Development Officer of TPP, Sukmayanto said recently.
TPP manages palm oil plantation area of 14,935 hectares in Riau. Problems with residents in Indragiri Hulu are going so long triggered by land claims and smallholding issues.
A group of local residents accused that company operated without a permit of Cultivation Right on Land (HGU) which expired in 2012 in area of Pasir Penyu. Residents then perpetrated a land's occupation.
Company declared that an extension of concession license in Pasir Penyu district and Lirik had been issued by National Land Agency (BPN) on September 9 with an area of 10,244 ha. Sukmayanto said that anarchy was not the first time happened. It keeps recurring due to indecision of police.
"There was our employees who had been taken hostage and hacked in June. It has been reported to police, but until now the legal process is not yet clear," Sukmayanto said.