InfoSAWIT, ACEH UTARA – Agrarian conflicts have resurfaced in Aceh Utara. The Village Head and farmers from Buket Linteung, Langkahan District, have announced plans to submit an official letter to the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) of the Republic of Indonesia to cancel the Certificate of Ownership Rights (SHM) for palm oil land in "Paket 15 Seureuke," currently controlled by the Sejahtera Mandiri Plantation Cooperative.

Additionally, they plan to contact the Deputy II of the Presidential Staff Office in Jakarta to urge the central government to directly assess the conditions in their village.

“We feel that our community's land has been seized. The methods used by the cooperative are utterly unreasonable,” stated Mansur, the Village Head of Buket Linteung, in a statement to InfoSAWIT on Wednesday (July 2, 2025). “We will write to the Minister of ATR/BPN and hold an audience with the Presidential Staff Office. This is to uphold justice and protect the rights of the people,” he continued.

This conflict dates back to 2015 when the residents of Buket Linteung raised concerns about the palm oil land included in the SHM "Paket 15 Seureuke." According to Mansur, this land has historically and geographically belonged to Buket Linteung, even before the transmigration project was initiated in Seureuke during the 1980s.

“Initially, transmigrants were only given 0.75 hectares of land per family. It was only in 1990 that it was expanded to 2 hectares per family. However, strangely, the land in our village was included in the Seureuke area and SHM was issued by BPN,” explained Mansur.

He noted that when the SHM was issued in 1994, Seureuke was still a preparatory village under the Lhoksukon District, while Buket Linteung was already under the Tanah Jambo Aye District. “So how could BPN issue a certificate in our village for residents of another village and district?” he emphasized.

Allegations of Legal Defects and Land Mafia

The village authorities suspect collusion between certain officials at the BPN office at that time and the Seureuke preparatory village. The certificate, deemed "legally defective," is now being used by the cooperative to conduct land transactions without proper legal procedures.

“There was no name transfer process, no sale and purchase deed (AJB), no PPAT. They only rely on the old SHM, which we believe is invalid,” explained Mansur.

He added that if this SHM continues to be used, it will set a bad precedent for law enforcement and allow land mafia practices to persist in the area.

The Village Head of Buket Linteung also urged the Aceh Utara Regent to promptly restore the boundary between Buket Linteung and Seureuke according to the old map from 1980 when Aceh was still divided into eight districts and two municipalities. He believes that clarifying the boundary is crucial for resolving the agrarian conflict in the area.

“We request that the 1980 map be used as a reference. If that is implemented, we can accept it. If not, we will continue to fight for our rights all the way to Jakarta,” Mansur concluded.

He also reminded the Aceh Utara BPN Office not to process requests for the issuance of electronic SHM for the disputed land until this issue is fully resolved.

“If there are requests for electronic SHM referring to the old SHM of Paket 15 Seureuke, we ask that they not be processed yet. This dispute is not settled,” he asserted.

The residents of Buket Linteung emphasize that their struggle is not just about land disputes but also part of supporting the national program to eradicate land mafia practices promoted by the central government.

“We fully support the state's spirit in combating land mafia. And we believe that the Paket 15 case is one of the examples,” Mansur concluded.

With this firm action, the residents of Buket Linteung hope that the central government will take concrete steps to resolve the conflict that has persisted for nearly a decade. They demand justice, transparency, and the restoration of their rights to the land they believe is rightfully theirs. (T2)