Thu, Oct 02, 2025 page6

• MotoGP project leaves evicted villagers in limbo

  • AFP, LOMBOK, Indonesia
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  The land that villager Senum once called home has been swallowed by Indonesia’s MotoGP circuit, part of a mega tourism project accused of forced evictions and rights abuses.

  The motorbike-mad country of 270 million people is to welcome newly-crowned MotoGP champion Marc Marquez to Lombok island this weekend for the first race since he matched Valentino Rossi’s seven titles with victory in Japan.

  However, outside the Mandalika International Street Circuit, there is little to celebrate for dozens of indigenous Sasak families who say they face land evictions and compensation battles linked to the venue’s development.

  

  Senum, a member of the indigenous Sasak community, who has been relocated twice after Indonesian authorities entered his land with heavy machinery to construct a MotoGP circuit, poses for a photograph on Lombok island in Indonesia on Wednesday last week.

  Photo: AFP

  “They forced us to leave just like dogs and chickens. They are like a thief,” said Senum, 47, who has had to move twice since authorities arrived with heavy machinery in 2018.

  “I had to run away from my land, because I was scared. I don’t want to die stupidly,” Senum said.

  He says he was promised 10 million rupiah (US$602) for land that became part of the MotoGP track, far below market price. In the end, he only received 3 million rupiah.

  The world’s premier motorcycle race returned to Indonesia in 2022 after a 25-year hiatus, at a 4.31km track in Lombok’s beach-lined Kuta resort town.

  The Indonesian government hopes the project would diversify tourism away from popular island Bali, but it has stoked a years-long struggle between authorities and locals.

  Most of the 124 families in the area have been forced out or moved elsewhere. Just 44 remain, fighting for compensation, locals said.

  Sibawahi, a 56-year-old carpenter and farmer who goes by one name, said the project consumed the land he used for coconut trees and livestock.

  In 2020, authorities demanded he leave, claiming his deceased parents had sold the land, without providing evidence. He lost about four hectares after police and soldiers seized it in 2021. He is still awaiting compensation.

  “I can’t accept it. My feelings are indescribable. It’s too sad for oppressed people like us,” he said. “What I hope is they pay me for the land.”

  Impoverished Lombok has struggled to rebuild after a deadly 2018 earthquake, and former Indonesian president Joko Widodo — whose government designated the area a special economic zone — has hailed the project for employing 3,000 locals.

  However, other residents have protested around the track and outside the governor’s office, demanding the return of their land or adequate compensation.

  In July, fresh evictions left more than 2,000 people without their primary source of income, UN experts said.

  In an August report, they “expressed alarm” at alleged intimidation and use of force, and warned “communities are now living in fear.”

  State-owned Indonesia Tourism Development Corp (ITDC), which oversees development of the Mandalika complex, and local Lombok authorities did not respond to Agence France-Presse requests for comment.

  However, ITDC has previously told local media that the land it manages was “clean and clear,” and that it “respects the rights of the community.”

  Some residents said they cannot even benefit from the track, as they are prevented from selling to visitors, and are even stopped from leaving their new homes on race weekend without permission.

  “We’re like a cow tied up in a cage,” Senum said.

  Housewife Suman was paid 15 million rupiah to leave her rented home near what is now a bend of the MotoGP track, and said she is happy to have moved.

  “When they started [building] ... it was crowded,” she said. “I am grateful to stay here now.”

  However, others like Senum are holding out for better compensation.

  “Pay us properly and give us our dignity,” he said, as an excavator scraped away at his former land.

  “If they want to keep building ... fix our problem first,” he added.
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