"Conflict involves competition between two or more actors about values, or competition to get access to power status or unlimited resources " (Coser)

In an Agrarian Resilience Seminar – Finding Solutions, Addressing Conflict on Thursday (10/10), Professor Maria Soemardjono, differentiated conflicts, based o their intensity, between:

-Latent conflict: where tensions does not fully develop, escalate or become polarised, and often the “stronger side” does not realize that there could be a potential for conflict.
-Emerging conflict: a conflict where the parties involved identify the core issue at conflict and some of those issues might be obvious.
-Manifest conflicts: where parties involved in the conflict, have started “negotiating", which may succeed or fail (Moore, 1996).

Conflict Cycle and causes (Moore, "The Mediation Process", 1996)

Maria also talked about conflict of interests: competition on an interest, procedural interest, psychological interest. Data Conflict: lack of information, differences in views about what is relevant, differences in data interpretation: differences in procedural valuation. Relational Conflict: strong emotion, misperception/stereotyping, communication problem, recurrent negative behaviour. Value Conflict: Differences in criteria to evaluate ideas/behaviour: differences in life paths, ideologies, religions. Structural Conflict: behaviour patters or detsructive interactions, imbalance in control, ownership or authority: geographical, physical, or environmental factors which inhibit collaboration: time obstacles.

Relationship between conflict and violence: Structural Conflict: coflicts resulting from unequal or unjust power and resource distribution because of differences in power amongst conflicting parties. Structural violence happens when social structure or social institution causes loss in community and prevent community from accessing their rights to meet their needs. Both are inter-related and inter-connected.

Direct violence and structural violence are inter-related and lead to injustices. They have different impacts on community in different social structures (differences in access to education, politics, capital and so on).

Direct violence and sexual violence also lead to structural/symbolic violence. The socio-cultural aspect of community that allows direct violence and structural violence.

Structural violence is an impact of: unequal economy, a majority of resources controlled by a minority in the community. For agrarian conflict "imbalance in land control/asset ownership and other resources."

Conflict pattern, causes, steps taken, future agenda

A. Conflict over Norms:

1. Regulation overlap re. Natural Resources/Agrarian Resources is indicative of the ego-sectoral prominence and no ministerial coordination that has an authority over natural resources. A. There was attempt to prepare Agrarian Resources Law (Indonesian Agrarian Authority, 2009). B. There was attempt to review synergy of Natural resources Law-Agrarian Law (Indonesian Anti-Graft Commission, 2017). C. There was discussion on draft Law on Natural Resources Management at the Parliament (around 2004) but no follow-up. The next strategy should be: a. Prepare academic article and draft law on control and management of natural resources as an ombudsman law in natural resources sector. There is also a need to consider the importance of establishing a coordinating minister for natural resources management.

2. Regulation on indigenous communities (MHA) and their areas in spectral laws and absence of law on indigenous community. There is not yet a commitment to discuss Law on Indigenous Community which is submitted annually to the national legislative program for more than fifteen years. This was discussed in Parliament legislative body but the majority of factions did not support further discussion. It is imperative to submit the Law of Indigenous Community into priority agenda in national legislative project to ensure State protection, respect, and fulfilment of the rights of MHA as mandated by the Constitution.

3. Land management after the Job Creation Act that is not in line with Agrarian Law, as contained in Government Regulations No. 18/2021 and No. 64/2021. They are pro-capital, hodgepodge and giving no guarantee to justice and legal certainty. There is also attempt to change government regulation no. 18/2021. The future agenda shoud be: revise agrarian regulation that is not in line with the agrarian law and re-write the agrarian law based on the constitution and principles contained in the agrarian law, with meaningful public participation.

4. Agrarian management at IKN (the national capital city) which is in not in line with the Constitutional Court decision No. 21-22/PUU-V/2007, which gives the red carpet to investors by infringing on the constitution: At the same time not giving protection to indigenous community (MHA) and local communities that live in the area before the national capital was even conceived. The policy needed is to correct agrarian regulation/policy that is not in line with the constitution and Agrarian Law.

B. Structural Conflict:

1. In MHA management areas between MHA and government/para-statal companies/corporation for mining industry, forestry, energy and carbon industry, and so on.
What happens then is:
a. (de facto) physical contro vs forma control (de jure)
b. Third party control MHA areas without FPIC/Padiatapa.
c. Law on MHA is not yet prepared
The challenge: no guideline for conflict resolution in MHA areas. The introduction of Agrarian and Spatial Ministerial Regulation ATR/Head of National Agrarian Authority No. 14/2024 on Agrarian Administration and Registry of Indigenous MHA land.

2.Conflict regarding land provision for development activities:
a. For public interest (Law No. 2/2012)
b. For civi servants through (1.) Law No. 2/2012. (2.) release of forest area. (3.) assets in control (ADP), direct land release by right owner.
Needed solution: focus on economic development; people are not treated as subjects of development. The preparation of academic article and regulation on implementation of social impacts assessment (SIA) in solving land dispute based on human rights paradigm re development, which put human at the centre of development. One must also remember about the importance of SIA regulation for land provision, the availability of human resource expert(s) to assess social impacts and accreditation.
Notes on Structural Conflict
a. Conflict data based on record of Agrarian Development Consortium (Konsorsium Pembangunan Agraria or KPA) and Indigenous Community Alliance (Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara or AMAN). In 2023, based on latest KPA record, of seven (7) types of confict, plantation-sector conflict domiates with 108 cases (44%), followed by property sector with 44 cases (18%), mining sector with 32 cases (13%), infrastructure with 30 cases (12%), forestry with 17 cases (7%), coastal and small islands with 5 cases (3%), and military facility with 5 cases (3%).
b. Conflict in Indigenous Community Areas (Masyarakat Hukum Adat or MHA): conflicts regarding seizure of Poco, Leok indigenous land, Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara relating to Geothermal National Strategic Project.

3. National Strategic Project for estabishing new one million hectare of agricutural land for food self-reliance,two hectares for sugar and bio-ethanol self-reliance in Merauke District, South Papua Province.
Closing, One recommendation to be considered relates to the deployment of security forces to secure Strategic National Projects: unofficial security is a form of violence. One needs to question whether deployment of ‘official’ security is urgent. The establishent of Indonesian military battalion to support food security must consider Article 30 (3) of the Indonesian 1945 Constitution which says that the Indonesian military is tasked with national defense, protection, safeguarding of unity and sovereignty. (Ast)