At least 27 people have been arrested in Batam following a mass demonstration against the relocation of the Malay village on Rempang Island on Monday (Sep. 11), Detik reported.

The demonstration saw a clash between demonstrators and police officers, Head of Public Relations of the Riau Islands Regional Police, Kombes Zahwani Pandra Arsyad said.

As a result, 16 police officers suffered serious injuries and were treated at the Bhayangkara Regional Police Hospital.

More than 1,000 demonstrators

The demonstration took place in front of the Badan Pengusahaan (BP) office, Batam City, Riau Island on Monday (Sep. 11), Kompas reported.

The BP office is a central government institution with the duty and authority to carry out the management, development, and construction of zones according to their respective functions.

One of the demonstrators, Ariandi, told Kompas that there were more than 1,000 people involved in the demonstration.

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Protesters include members of the Malay community from Riau Island and residents from West Sumatra and West Kalimantan.

Arianda said the protest is a form of solidarity to reject the relocation of traditional villages due to the Rempang Eco City Project.

This is the second demonstration that took place at BP Batam.

Started peacefully

The demonstration, which started around 9am, was initially peaceful.

Head of BP Batam and Mayor of Batam Muhammad Rudi then attempted to communicate with the crowd.

"I have offered to let resident representatives to visit Jakarta together to express their sentiments," Rudi said.

"This (Rempang Eco City) is a National Strategic Program [and any] decision lies with the central government. It is outside my scope of authority."

The demonstration started to take a turn at noon when the crowd started throwing stones and bottles at the BP Batam office, resulting in damage to the building and causing injuries to a number of officers.

Meanwhile, the police responded by firing water cannons and tear gas.

Haruskah demo di BP Batam seanarkis ini?? Ckck pic.twitter.com/6UezZeO13O

— Warga Wakanda (@plusenamdua_) September 11, 2023

Ini baru namanya kebangkitan dan jiwa Melayu sebenarnya. Solidariti antar kaum dan bangsa. Batam, Riau (kampung Melayu pulau Rempang). pic.twitter.com/7jlwOPruZZ

— Amir Yogi / أمير يوغي / Αμίρ Γιόγκι (@amiryogi) September 11, 2023

Rempang Eco City

The conflict started when BP agency planned to relocate the entire population of Rempang Island consisting of approximately 7,500 people, Kompas reported.

The relocation was done to support investment and development plans on Rempang Island, which would see the building of industrial, service, and tourism areas under the name Rempang Eco City.

The project is targeted to attract investment of up to 381 trillion rupiah (S$33.8 billion) by 2080.

There are about 16 settlements of indigenous communities on Rempang Island, including the Orang Laut and Orang Darat who are believed to have lived on the island since at least 1834.

A resident from Rempang Island, Gerisman Ahmad, said the project should have been built without displacing the indigenous communities.

"The Rempang Eco City National Strategic Program has ignored the voices of indigenous peoples from the start," said Zenzi Suhadi, National Executive Director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment.

"Therefore, we ask President Joko Widodo to take a firm stance to cancel the programme," he said.

Top image via @mt15059/TikTok and @plusenamdua_/Twitter.