Stop the eviction: Solidarity with the peoples of Rempang Island, Indonesia

A statement by Friends of the Earth International and WALHI denouncing the violent repression of residents on Rempang Island, Indonesia, following a National Strategic Program to build an 'Eco-City' without local consent.

• On 7 September 2023, police officers entered Rempang Island to conduct land measurements, leading to physical clashes with residents who resisted. The incident resulted in hundreds of people being harmed, the use of tear gas that affected school children, dozens of direct injuries by police, at least 20 arrests, and the criminalisation of 8 residents.
• The proposed 'Eco-City' development on Rempang Island, led by the Batam Free Trade and Free Port Zone Concession Agency (BP Batam) and announced in August 2023, requires residents to leave. This plan does not consider the people living in 16 Old Melayu traditional villages (kampong melayu tua) since 1834.
• The conflict on Rempang Island is part of a broader pattern of non-inclusive development and police repression in Indonesia. Similar conflicts occurred in 2022 in Wadas village due to a planned dam in Bener District, Central Java, and previously in Kulonprogo regarding the New International Yogyakarta Airport.
• Friends of the Earth International and WALHI demand that the Indonesian government cancel the Eco-City plan, stop deploying police to Rempang Island, remove the heads of the Riau province regional police and Batam resort police, and implement a permanent moratorium on national strategic projects in territories of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

APA

FOEIAdmin (2023). Stop the eviction: Solidarity with the peoples of Rempang Island, Indonesia. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rempang-island-indonesia-solidarity/

Chicago

FOEIAdmin. Stop the eviction: Solidarity with the peoples of Rempang Island, Indonesia. Friends of the Earth International, 2023. https://www.foei.org/rempang-island-indonesia-solidarity/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=FOEIAdmin |title=Stop the eviction: Solidarity with the peoples of Rempang Island, Indonesia |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=14 September 2023 |url=https://www.foei.org/rempang-island-indonesia-solidarity/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{foeiadmin2023stop, author = {FOEIAdmin}, title = {{Stop the eviction: Solidarity with the peoples of Rempang Island, Indonesia}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://www.foei.org/rempang-island-indonesia-solidarity/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }