Editorial – Amnesty for Subsistence Farming on Land
A grassroots movement backed by over 12,000 voters is pushing for amnesty legislation to clear criminal records and restore land rights for subsistence farmers prosecuted under forest policies, arguing the law would lift the impoverished ou
The People's Movement for a Just Society (PMFS) has submitted a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives requesting consideration of a bill granting amnesty to citizens harmed or affected by state land and forest policies. The submission includes signatures from over 12,000 eligible voters. This grassroots movement represents networks affected by past flawed government policies. Bill drafters argue that the law would lift poor people out of a failed cycle of injustice, where legal proceedings have been used as a tool to imprison the impoverished. They stress that an amnesty law is urgently needed to clear records and restore land rights to original settlers. The PMFS hopes the bill will be prioritized for parliamentary consideration and quickly enacted. Since the 2014 coup on May 22, coup leaders announced measures against capitalists encroaching on forests through forest reclamation policies. However, in practice, over 48,000 people—mostly ethnic minorities, the poor, and the destitute—have been prosecuted despite having lived on the land before forest area designations and relying on nature for subsistence. Already impoverished, these people became even more destitute after facing state prosecution. Due to these failures, both government and opposition parties are urged to jointly push for law consideration to restore justice to this group.
