Ward Berenschot (University of Amsterdam / KITLV) and Otto Hospes (Wageningen University), together with Indonesian researchers, are publishing Rightless resistance: Postcolonial citizenship, palm oil, and land grabs in Indonesia — a study of 150 land conflicts between palm oil companies and Indonesian village communities. They previously made the documentary Colonial debris on the same subject. At this launch event, experts from various backgrounds will discuss the  main arguments of the book, alongside short clips from the documentary.

The spectacular growth of palm oil plantations in Indonesia has been accompanied by thousands of conflicts between companies and local communities over land, compensation, and environmental damage. In their new book, Ward Berenschot, Ahmad Dhiaulhaq, Afrizal, and Otto Hospes show that these conflicts are no accident. They are ingrained in a legal system rooted in Dutch colonial rule.

A Dutch colonial law of 1870 — the so-called domain declaration — stipulated that all land without proven ownership belonged to the state. This wiped out the customary law of indigenous communities in one fell swoop and paved the way for large-scale plantations. After independence in 1945, Indonesia adopted large parts of the colonial legal system. The consequence is that Indonesian farmers have formal rights, but those rights are so vague and difficult to enforce that they offer little protection in practice. Berenschot et al. call this “rightlessness”. It is structural, not incidental.

The book is based on the NWO-funded research project Palm oil conflicts and access to justice in Indonesia (POCAJI), conducted by KITLV, Wageningen University, and Universitas Andalas, in collaboration with Indonesian NGOs and scientists. For the first time, a large-scale, systematic study was conducted of 150 conflict cases across four provinces: Riau, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and West Sumatra. The patterns were strikingly similar everywhere: communities lost land without meaningful consent or fair compensation, promises of profit sharing were not honored, and when communities went to court, they almost always lost.

Speakers

Butet Manurung is a PhD Candidate in Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam and co-founder of Sokola Institute, a pioneering Indonesian organization for community-based education established in 2003. Butet is a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for her contributions to Indigenous education. For over 25 years, she has worked alongside Indigenous communities to develop participatory education and collaborative research. Her doctoral research explores co-animation as a collaborative ethnographic method for knowledge co-creation with Orang Rimba communities in Sumatra.

Michel Maas writes for de Volkskrant on international affairs. He worked as a foreign correspondent for many years, first in Eastern Europe and later for eighteen years in Southeast Asia, based in Indonesia.

Open access

The book is available through open access here.

Format, date, time & venue

This seminar is a hybrid event and will be held in the conference room of KITLV, Herta Mohr building, room 1.30, Witte Singel 27 A, Leiden and online via Zoom, on Thursday 8 October from 15.30–17.00 PM (CET).

Other book launch date

Tuesday 6 October, 14.00-15.30 PM, Wageningen University, Vijfde Polder 1 (Aurora gebouw), room B9242, Wageningen.
Speakers: Marieke Leegwater (Solidaridad), Jan-Willem Liebrand (Utrecht University)

Image

Book cover.