The East Kalimantan Police have temporarily suspended the detention of nine citizens who were arrested for halting the opening of land for the Capital City of Indonesia project (IKN). The citizens can continue the land verification process and legal proceedings will still proceed.

"The nine perpetrators have received a suspension of detention, but the legal process continues," said Head of Public Relations Department of East Kalimantan Regional Police, Commissioner Artanto, on Sunday (3/3/2024).

The suspension of detention was carried out on Friday (1/3/2024). The nine citizens have already been declared as suspects by the police. Therefore, the legal process for the citizens continues at the East Kalimantan Regional Police.

Previously, the residents were reported by workers at the Very Very Important Person (VVIP) IKN Airport project. According to the police report, nine residents halted the activity of workers who were clearing land for the VVIP IKN Airport project.

Residents say that the land is their cultivation area, namely Saloloang Farmer Group. Therefore, they request that the land not be opened before there is a scheduled land verification by the government.

However, the project workers ultimately reported the residents to the police. The police arrested the residents because they were deemed to have made threats and carried sharp weapons such as machetes or mandau while halting the land clearing activity.

Residents have been detained and interrogated by police since February 24, 2024. "Those who requested a postponement of detention (nine residents) were Penajam Paser Utara Acting Regent, Makmur Marbun," said Artanto.

Head of Public Relations and Protocol Division of PPU Regency Secretary Hendro Susilo stated that as a guarantee to the citizens, Acting Regent of PPU sent a written letter to the Kaltim Regional Police. He added that the PPU Regency Government hopes that the issue faced by the citizens will not reoccur, especially in the construction site location of the IKN VVIP Airport.

"Meaning, convey the existing issues to the authorized party related to this matter, including to the Acting Regent of PPU who is also the Chairman of the Agrarian Reform Team of PPU District," said Hendro.

Land verification is underway Before the suspension of land opening, the suspects and 22 other residents accompanied by the Development Policy Assistance Network (JPKP). Assistance was provided in managing their land recognition, but also as a point for the development of the IKN VVIP Airport.

The Chairman of JPKP, Maret Samuel Sueken, said that land verification is the process of proving whether citizens have the right to crops or land based on evidence. Residents claim that their land is ancestral land that has been cultivated since 1965.

Residents have a legal claim to the land in the form of a seal and permission to cultivate the land. Maret stated that residents will also prove that they manage the land by showing the existence of plants and trees that they have planted.

According to him, residents halted the opening of land in the IKN VVIP Airport to prevent the removal of evidence of crops that had already been planted by locals. This is because the residents have already received a schedule for verifying their land.

When stopping the activity, the residents did indeed carry a kind of machete and machete on their waist. However, Maret said, those were tools that the villagers brought when farming. "It's called the land needs verification, residents clean the road to their garden. So they use machetes and the like for that," said Maret.

The nine detained individuals, according to Maret, are both heads of families and land managers. As such, this detention suspension could assist the land verification process more optimally. "The land verification process is still ongoing," he said.