Land restitution for Padang Halaban, now!

The 1965 massacre of Padang Halaban

In 1968, the residents of six villages in the Padang Halaban plantation area, Northern Sumatra, were forcibly evicted from their land by the Indonesian state. Although the residents had lived in the area for an extensive period and held official land occupation registration cards, the military wanted to create room for the cultivation of palms and fruit by the agricultural company Plantagen AG, now PT SMART, and launched a violent campaign against the community in 1965. During this period, over 50 residents disappeared, were tortured, raped and even killed under the guise of being affiliated with the communist party. To this day, an area of approximately 7000 hectares is still controlled by the company, while the human rights violations that the victims suffered remain unaddressed by the Indonesian government. 

Since the 1970s, various efforts have been carried out to get justice for the original residents and victims of the massacre, but these have always ended in procedural deadlock. Therefore, in 2009,  collective representatives from the six villages resorted to direct action and slowly re-occupied an area of 83.5 hectares that belonged to one of the original villages. Despite ongoing lawsuits, the land became a place of settlement and food production once again during the following years, and plays a central role in the identity of the local population. In 2016, the Supreme Court ruled against the community’s rights to the land and eviction was scheduled for 2025.

Commemoration and further displacement

In December 2025, KontraS North Sumatra, with the support of Het Actiefonds, erected a monument on the still-occupied Padang Halaban lands, displaying the names of the 50 massacre victims. Although the organization, which has been fighting for vulnerable populations in the area since 2000, was planning to assist the occupation of additional land to house twenty more households, the residents of the originally claimed 83.5 hectares were forcibly removed from their land on 28 January 2026. With 21 bulldozers and secured by approximately 800 police agents and military forces, PT SMART evicted the community and destroyed their houses, agricultural land and infrastructure. 

Driven by their spirit of resistance, the people of Padang Halaban continue to occupy the only building that still stands: the mosque. The 150 residents that remain have gathered there to set up temporary shelter, organize a communal kitchen and pray for their struggle. KontraS North Sumatra continues to assist the community by providing food and will soon launch a public campaign to build solidarity with the victims. Although all houses have been destroyed, the occupation perists! Het Actiefonds is proud to have supported the Padang Halablan community and will continue to stand in solidarity with their struggle for restitution of their land.