The Letter of Solidarity for Indonesian Peasants

Despite the geographical distance and the difference between our language and culture, we are aware of the difficult situation that your people have been living since a very long time.

Of more than 32.53 million poor people in Indonesia, 19.9 million of them still live in rural area. Most of them are peasants and work as food producers, but as consumers they often cannot reach the food in the market.

In most part of the world, the situation happens all the time because peasants in rural area lack access to their rights over land. In Indonesia where 39.88 per cent of the workforce are still involved in agriculture, having a small plot of landor even landlessis still the general picture. We witness how these people have been left behind from the development process since decades ago in the so-called agrarian country.

We are deeply disturbed by the fact that the average ownership of land in Indonesia is only 0.4 hectare per household. Meanwhile, many peasants human rights violations have been occurring: The increasing and violent expulsion from the land and alienation from sources of livelihoods.

At the same time, expansion of export-commodities plantation is beyond imagination. The consequences of this expansion have been deteriorating for the people and the planet.

We share a similar pain with you because in our country we also suffer the marginalization, and also the massive destruction of our motherland. We also send our solidarity and highlight the role of peasants in producing food for the people. The cooperation between people has to be developed, in order to uphold our food sovereignty.

Here from our field of work, from urban and also rural area, we express our support for a genuine agrarian reform in Indonesia. We also would like to send our solidarity for you who are in the path of protecting your peasants human rights, and for the Indonesian government to start an integral process to settle the agrarian conflict in your country immediately.

We pray that the peasants member of SPI will never lose their hope, and keep the struggle until the end, until you win!