In Reply to: Lombok new airport posted by rambutmerrah on Sunday, 9. October 2005 at 17:55 Bali Time:
The organisations mentioned in the article are Serikat Tani NTB (the local peasants' union) -- I assume NTB stands for Nusa Tengarra Barat -- and Indonesian Federation of Peasant Unions (FSPI) -- based in Jakarta. The "for more info" link says:
Tejo Pramano, Via Campesina, Jakarta: tpramono@viacampesina.org, http://www.viacampesina.org
I haven't had time yet to do a proper search for info, so I don't know the name of the company planning the retirement development. I remember a few posters on the BTF talking about it a while back, but I didn't take much notice. Hopefully someone will post some info about it.
The protest/violence was shown on Indonesian TV, and pretty much written off as a bunch of angry peasants who had to be subdued. I have some friends who told me they'd look through the newspapers to see if there were any print media reports.
I stumbled across the info about this incident while trying to find out about some (mostly Afghani) asylum seekers who were illegally deported from Christmas Island by the Australian Navy and wound up in Lombok (and a few other places). I'm still looking into that, if you happen to know/hear anything about them.
The incident in Lombok is disturbing enough in itself, but a greater worry is that it could easily become a pattern of behaviour (again) since Indonesia is actively seeking foreign investment. It also ties in nicely with terrorism fears renewing the military's territorial duties, which historically have been used to abuse citizens' rights in a variety of ways. And with the US on the verge of supplying weapons to Indonesia again... well, it all looks too much like things are creeping back to the old ways under Suharto.
All of which affects Indonesians a lot more than it does tourists. But we should all care enough to at least speak out or help in whatever way we can.