Hundreds of farmers along with their families gathered in the Laoli Hamlet area, Harapan Village, Malili District, East Luwu Regency on Tuesday (28/7/2026). This mass action was held as a form of strong rejection against the plan of the East Luwu Regency Government (Pemkab) to clear residents' cultivated land to facilitate the development of an industrial estate project.
During the protest, residents took turns delivering speeches to defend the land they have managed for generations. Residents emphasized that they had occupied and cultivated the land long before the issuance of the Right to Manage Certificate (HPL) in the name of the East Luwu Regency Government, so the eviction efforts are considered unilateral and ignore the rights of citizens.
Tensions escalated following the circulation of an internal letter from the East Luwu Regency Government dated July 23, 2026, signed by Regional Secretary Ramadhan Pirade. The letter contained an invitation to the management of PT Indonesia Huali Industry Park (PT IHIP) to attend a technical coordination meeting for land clearing, including the involvement of corporate security officers in the execution process on the ground.
The local government claims the clearing steps were taken after going through the stages of Handling Social and Community Impacts (PDSK) as well as depositing compensation money through a consignment scheme at the Malili District Court. However, the farmers, accompanied by the Makassar Legal Aid Institute (LBH), refused to attend the consignment hearing because they felt the mechanism did not resolve the root cause of the land ownership dispute.
Previously, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) had also issued a recommendation for the East Luwu Regency Government to postpone all land clearing activities. This postponement was requested to respect the handling of public complaints, which is currently ongoing at the human rights monitoring institution.
