Evicted villagers pay the price for MotoGP's Indonesia return

Lombok, Indonesia

THE holiday island of Lombok welcomed thousands of fans on Sunday (Nov 21) for Indonesia's first superbike race on a new circuit that is part of a mega tourism infrastructure project denounced by the United Nations (UN) over the eviction of local families.

With a population of more than 270 million people, many of whom get around on 2 wheels, Indonesia has one of the world's biggest communities of bike-race fans. But the archipelago had not hosted a major race since 1997.

Several villages have been relocated voluntarily or by force for construction of the new Mandalika circuit. But around 40 families - along with their cattle and dogs - are still holding out in the centre of the track despite intimidation to cede their land. Environmentalists also question the wisdom of hosting large-scale events on an island under threat from natural disasters.

The superbike spectacle on the 4.3km circuit on Sunday was a prelude to a MotoGP race - the top tier of the motorcycle Grand Prix - to be held on the island in March 2022.

The government hopes to create thousands of jobs and attract up to 2 million foreign tourists a year with the circuit complex, which covers more than 1,000 hectares bordered by white-sand beaches. But the gleaming new project has been the subject of bitter conflict between authorities and local residents.

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Abdul Latif, 36, and his 4 children have so far stayed behind because they have not received any compensation for leaving. "Life is difficult here now . . . Access is very restricted," he said. "We play cat-and-mouse with security personnel guarding the area."

Another villager, 54-year-old Abdul Kadir, said young people struggled to get to school because they were blocked by security.

Making matters worse, local wells have run dry for 6 months since tunnels were built under the circuit, leaving residents without water.

Many villagers have lost their livelihoods, with farmers confiscated of their land and fishermen relocated from the coast. Security forces have been deployed to remove some families while others have been coerced into accepting meagre compensation packages, said human rights lawyer Widodo Dwi Putro, who is defending the villagers.

Sibawai, a 53-year-old farmer, has lost most of his land. He said the authorities tried to evict him several times before police came for him in January. "They deployed around 700 personnel just for my land. I tried to prevent the bulldozers from entering but they dragged me away," he said.

UN experts in March called on the Indonesian government and the companies involved "to respect human rights". Several international companies previously associated with the US$3 billion-dollar project denied still being a part of it, including construction giant Vinci and holiday operator Club Med. The Accor group operates a Novotel on the site and is building a Pullman hotel. The company told AFP it did not own the land or the hotel but would manage it on behalf of the Indonesian public company Indonesia Development Tourism Corporation.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is due to contribute US$250 million to the project, said it had carried out a study and did not identify any human rights violations. AFP