Indonesia: Locals reportedly subjected to violence resulting in injuries & arrests after raising concerns against land development including glass and solar panel factory
"Tensions flare as Indonesian islanders resist China solar development", 10 October 2024
A major Chinese solar panel manufacturing development on an Indonesian island saw renewed clashes in September between a company allegedly controlled by an Indonesian household name and the island’s Indigenous communities resisting eviction.
Siti Hawa, a 66-year-old grandmother, suffered a broken wrist after she stepped in to prevent a security guard from striking members of her community here on Rempang Island, which is closer to Singapore than to the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
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The Indonesian government in August 2023 announced the Rempang Eco-City project, an initiative covering 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) of Rempang Island. The project’s centerpiece is a $11.6 billion glass and solar panel factory by Hong Kong–based giant Xinyi International Investment.
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The development requires the eviction of most of Rempang’s approximately 7,500 residents, including many Indigenous seafarers. The developer of the industrial estate is PT Makmur Elok Graha (MEG)....
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On Sept. 6, 2023, public tension over the imminent eviction boiled over into a demonstration that police countered with teargas. Hundreds joined the demonstration and more than 40 people were arrested.
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