| Summary: | The history of Indonesia�s plantation in 19
th
century is part of the history of
western agrarian capitalism that emerges from colonialism. History tells us that plantation
has brought transformation in the economic and political structure, from the traditional
structure to the modern and colonial structure. Consequently, land grabbing is
unavoidable to fulfill the needs of the plantage corporation. It then raises argrarian
conflicts and peasant resistances in many places, especially in Sumatra and Java.
Resistance is dynamics, there are many styles of peasant resistance along the history,
from the messianistic way, legal way, underground politics, to open resistance.
The theme of the research is peasant resistance during the transition of democracy
organized by peasant movement of Deli Serdang confronts PTPN II. This research is the
continuation of previous researches on peasant movements and its style in Indonesia to
confront corporation. It is a qualitative research that employs historical and atropological
approach. Data is collected through participatory observation, with the involvement of
the researcher in daily life, both directly and indirectly, both involved inside the struggle
and outside the struggle in observing the resistance of Deli Serdang Persil IV peasant
movement. This research is conducted in three years (from August 2007 to January
2010), and then another two months in April-May 2012.
It reveals that after the land grabbing in 1972, job mobility was unavoidable, both
vertically and horizontally, from peasant to multi job or non formal occupation. On the
other hand, society has experienced the vertical mobility that goes down. They used to be
moderate land owner, and they turn to be small land owner. The growing number of
people doesn�t go in line with the land capacity for production. Consequently, the number
of unemployment and unskilled labor in Persil IV area is increasing.
This research also reveals an important thing that during the transition of
democracy, symbolized by the fall of new order regime and the beginning of reformation,
means political opportunity for the peasants to openly resist by reclaiming and clear away
the plants or resist illegally. Besides, they also put their struggle on a legal or judicial
way. The assumption that reformation means justice has brought peasant�s trust toward
state as an effect. Nevertheless, when legal resistance doesn�t reach the solution, the
peasants start to turn their head on another way of resistance, by resist in an illegal way.
This way of resistance has such consequence as the risk of open war, the peasants has to
confront the state apparatus or civil military recruited by PTPN II/ the emergence of extra
legal movement is a consequence of the state failure in giving the solution of the conflict
and when the legal contradiction in order to resolve the agrarian conflict get stronger.
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