Nipah Dam incident
| Nipah Dam incident | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The Nipah Dam in 2016 | |||
| Date | 25 September 1993 | ||
| Location | |||
| Resulted in | See Aftermath | ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Casualties and losses | |||
| |||
Security forces opened fire on a group of villagers protesting the construction of Nipah Dam in Sampang Regency, in Madura Island of Indonesia's East Java province, on 25 September 1993. Four villagers were killed. The incident followed a period of dispute over land acquisition for the dam's construction. Following the shooting, several soldiers along with local security commanders would be dismissed from their posts, and the dam's construction was suspended until 2004.
Background
[edit]In 1993, the Indonesian government initiated a plan to construct a number of dams which would provide water for irrigation in East Java province. One of the dams would be constructed on the Nipah River which flows through the Banyuates district of Sampang Regency in Madura, a region considered by the government as needing additional paddy fields to increase local food self-sufficiency.[1] The dam had previously started construction in 1980 to 1983 without much issue,[2] but was suspended in 1986 due to funding shortages.[1] To continue the project, the government attempted to acquire a further 120 hectares of land from villagers.[1] This caused tension as some villagers refused to sell their land (which included mosques and burial grounds).[1]
Incident
[edit]As the project continued, villagers became increasingly restless as their requests to the local government for the dam's construction plans were ignored. The local military unit, Kodim Sampang, began to get involved, in one case arresting several landowners and coaxing them into selling their land. By September, villagers had begun to stop government workers from measuring land, leading to Sampang's regent Bagus Hinayana to order a briefing be held to the villagers. In the briefing, Hinayana threatened to shoot villagers who obstructed the project, and the majority of attendees would walk out from the event. Kodim Sampang soldiers began to accompany the land surveyors following a request from Hinayana.[3] Hinayana later claimed that the protesters were not locals and were from other villages.[4]
On 25 September 1993, surveyors accompanied by 20 soldiers and policemen headed to a measurement site at the village of Planggran Barat,[5] where they encountered "hundreds" of opposing villagers. According to later reports by security forces, the villagers carried melee weapons and forced their way close to the group of surveyors, and after warning shots went unheeded the soldiers fired on the villagers. Findings from Surabaya's legal aid agency (LBH), however, wrote that the villagers carried no weapons, and were shot from a distance of 125 meters instead of the 5 meters claimed in official reports. Regardless, three villagers were declared dead on the spot, and another died at a hospital on 30 September.[6] A further four villagers suffered injuries from gunshot.[7]
Aftermath
[edit]Madurese religious leader Kyai Alawy Muhammad, who had been a leader in opposing the dam's construction, led a joint statement with a number of Madurese ulama demanding punishment of the killers. The New Order government began to involve local ulama after the incident in order to calm the situation.[8] Minister of Home Affairs Yogie Suardi Memet announced that "sanctions would be imposed" on Hinayana.[9] The provincial government of East Java, under governor Basofi Sudirman, asserted his responsibility over the incident. Despite demands from locals, Hinayana was not removed from his post, and served until the end of his term in 1995.[10] In October 1993, soldiers who had committed the killings were punished in a court-martial, while the commanders of Kodim Sampang and the Sampang District Police were dismissed from their posts.[11]
The dam project itself would be suspended. It would resume construction in 2004, and complete construction in 2008, but land acquisition delayed the dam's filling until 2015 (with land acquisition disputes remaining until at least 2018).[4][12] It was eventually inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on 19 March 2016.[13] As of 2025, the dam supplies irrigation to 1,150 hectares of paddy fields, which had previously been rain-fed.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Pribadi, Yanwar (13 June 2018). Islam, State and Society in Indonesia: Local Politics in Madura. Routledge. pp. 133–136. ISBN 978-1-315-47367-3.
- ^ "Tragedi Waduk Nipah 1993". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). 23 May 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ^ Pribadi 2018, pp. 137–138.
- ^ a b Pribadi 2018, p. 144.
- ^ "Di Balik Tragedi Waduk Nipah Madura, Sekian Nyawa Melayang Demi Mempertahankan Tanah". Mojok.co (in Indonesian). 22 April 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ^ Pribadi 2018, pp. 139–140.
- ^ Cahasta, L. Alfan (2008). "Jejak Insiden Nipah 1993". Wacana. National Commission on Human Rights. pp. 12–13.
- ^ Pribadi 2018, pp. 140–143.
- ^ "Government sanctions local official for dam incident". United Press International. 11 October 1993. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ^ Pribadi 2018, pp. 145–146.
- ^ Pribadi 2018, p. 140.
- ^ "Warga Sampang Tutup Jalan Menuju Waduk Nipah". ANTARA News Jawa Timur (in Indonesian). 23 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ^ "Presiden RI Resmikan Bendungan Nipah di Madura" (in Indonesian). Ministry of Public Works. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ^ "Pemkab Sampang optimalkan penanaman padi di sekitar Waduk Nipah". ANTARA News Jawa Timur (in Indonesian). 20 April 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.