Meeting On Kendeng Cement Issue

Pada hari Rabu, 5 April 2017 lalu saya menghadiri sebuah pertemuan di Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Solo bersama SATUNAMA dan para mahasiswa UNS untuk mendiskusikan isu semen Kendeng. Acara diadakan di semacam area publik di UNS dan menampilkan beberapa lukisan karya Dewi Candraningrum. Lukisan-lukisan itu menggambarkan cerita tentang perjuangan para warga Kendeng dalam melawan perusahaan semen, mengilustrasikan warga Kendeng yang melakukan protes di Jakarta dengan cara menyemen kaki mereka di depan gedung parlemen.

Pak Ramdhan, salah satu dosen UNS memandu acara yang dihadiri oleh mahasiswa dan civitas kampus lainnya, di mana mereka mengekspresikan perhatian dan solidaritasnya terhadap warga Kendeng. Lontaran pendapat dan ekspresi seperti membaca puisi ciptaan warga Kendeng untuk menggalang harapan dalam perjuangan melawan pabrik semen muncul sepanjang acara. Acara ini memang dimaksudkan sebagai pemicu aktivisme di Solo untuk melawan industri semen, sebagai bagian dari aktivisme yang lebih luas, yaitu tentang keberlanjutan tatanan sosial dan lingkungan Kendeng, Pulau Jawa dan Indonesia.

Beberapa perwakilan dari berbagai universitas berbicara tentang pentingnya bergerak bersama dan mencapai gerakan nasional melawan industry semen. Hadirin semakin banyak yang datang dan ikut urun rembug dalam diskusi yang melontarkan ide-ide untuk secara efektif melakukan advokasi terhadap isu semen ini. Setelah diskusi, Pak Ramdhan kemudian mengundang para mahasiswa untuk bergabung dalam diskusi membicarakan rencana-rencana yang diperlukan. Diskusi ini dipandu oleh Maria Sucianingsih dari SATUNAMA. Dia mengajak para mahasiswa untuk bicara dan berbagi ide dan rencana.

Perwakilan berbagai kelompok mahasiswa menyodorkan agenda mereka dan membuat perencanaan bersama untuk memulai gerakan. Selama berlangsungnya diskusi, saya merasakan sebuah solidaritas, antusiame dan harapan. Harapan untuk Kendeng, harapan untuk keadilan, untuk Hak Asasi Manusia dan untuk generasi masa depan demi membuah perubahan.

Selepas siang, diskusi pun usai dengan rasa solidaritas yang kuat. Acara ini sangat menginspirasi sekaligus menjadi awal sesuatu yang besar. Kata-kata “Kendeng Lestari” diteriakkan di akhir acara. Sebuah acara yang menjadi awal sesuatu yang besar.

Versi Asli Bahasa Inggris

Background: The farmers are calling on the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, to halt construction of a cement factory on their lands in Kendeng area, Rembang, Central Java. If built, the factory would cause serious damage to the environment and destory the livelihoods of hundreds of farming families. The Kendeng mountainous area has previously been protected by the Government of Indonesia as a Karst Landscape area, prohibiting any industrial and extractive activities. Any exploitation of the Karst mountain would pollute the ground water basin, affecting the supply of clean water for the surrounding ecosystem. For the Indigenous Peoples in Kendeng, this exploitation and pollution of their ancestral land not only robs them of their livelihoods, but also of their identity. Construction of the cement factory will lead to the eviction of 300-400 families from their lands, forests and paddy fields – their main source of income. In 2017 the regional Governor has issued another environmental permit to the company implicitly allowing the construction to continue as planned. (Source: landrights.org)

On the Wednesday the 5th of April I attended a meeting at UNS in Solo with Satunama and university students from UNS to discuss the Kendeng cement issue. The meeting was held at their public space area and featured paintings by Dewi Candraningrum. The paintings telling the story of Kendeng villagers’ fight against the cement company, illustrating Kendeng villagers that protested in Jakarta who cemented their feet in front of the Parliament. Pak Ramdhan, a university lecturer at UNS hosted the event in which different actors and university students expressed their concern and solidarity with the Kendeng people throughout the event.

The event was a mix of expressing opinions, reading poetry from Kendeng villagers’ and raising hope for the fight against the cement industry. The event is meant to be a starting point for activism in Solo against the cement industry but moreover activism for the protection of environmental and social sustainability of Kendeng, Java and the whole of Indonesia. Different representatives from different university groups spoke about the importance to join together and reach a national movement against the cement industry. As more and more people got up and spoke up about the issue the ambience was filled with discussion and ideas on how to affectively advocate against this issue. After the public speaking, Pak Ramdhan invited students to join a lively discussion on how to go forth and make constructive plans for the future.

This discussion was hosted by Maria Sucianingsih from Satunama, in which she invited students to speak up and share ideas and future plans on getting together. Representatives of different student groups shared their agenda and made plans to come together and start a movement. During the lively discussion, I felt a sense of solidarity, enthusiasm and hope. Hope for Kendeng, hope for justice, hope for people’s rights and hope for the future generation to make a change. As the afternoon went on and the discussion came to an end I felt a sense of solidarity coming out of this event. This event was truly inspiring and only the starting point of what will become something big. ‘Kendeng Lestari’ we shouted as we said our goodbye’s for now, knowing that this is only the start of something big.

Author: “Aisha Brooks”
Photo: #GuyubBocah