HUNDREDS of residents from Beutong Ateuh Banggalang District, Nagan Raya Regency, Aceh Province, staged a protest rejecting all forms of mining permits in their region on Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
The protest took place around the Krueng Beutong Bridge area and was attended by community leaders, civil society organizations, and local residents.
Eighty-seven national and international organizations have offered solidarity and support for the struggle of the Beutong Ateuh Banggalang community to defend their living space, traditional values, and ancestral cultural heritage from the threat of extractive mining.
One of these voices came from Marianne Klute of the international environmental organization Rainforest Rescue (Rettet den Regenwald), who highlighted the grave threat to the Leuser Ecosystem if mining is forced to proceed.
According to Marianne, Beutong Ateuh has remained relatively intact precisely because the local community has preserved and utilized nature sustainably.
“We are deeply concerned about the Leuser Ecosystem and its unique biodiversity, which seems to be sacrificed for the sake of economic profits. Nature in Beutong remains relatively intact because local people use and protect it in an environmentally friendly way. Mining will destroy everything, trigger disasters, and violate human rights,” Marianne Klute stated.
This statement underscores that the threat to Beutong Ateuh has drawn international attention from those who view the region as a crucial component of global efforts to combat the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.
Eight Years of Resistance, the State Remains Deaf
The opposition from the Beutong Ateuh community is nothing new. Since 2018, residents have consistently carried out various peaceful and constitutional efforts. Dozens of protests have been staged, spanning from Beutong Ateuh, Nagan Raya Regency, and Banda Aceh, to Jakarta. Diverse community elements—customary leaders, women, students, youth, and religious scholars—have actively engaged in defending the area they regard as their ancestral lifeline.
With the struggle spanning over eight years, a major question now arises: How many more times must the people of Beutong Ateuh voice their rejection before the state truly listens to its own citizens?
Remove Beutong from the Mining Zone!
Beutong residents fear that large-scale mining activities will destroy forests and rivers, ruin local culture and traditions, and spark social conflicts.
Previously, on September 8, 2025, a delegation of Beutong residents traveled down from the mountains to Banda Aceh and met with the Governor of Aceh, Muzakir Manaf, at his office to deliver a single ultimatum:
*“The people of Beutong firmly reiterate their rejection of all forms of mining—including community-based mining currently promoted by the Aceh Provincial Government.”*
The arrival of the Beutong community was accompanied by delegates from the Aceh Wetland Forum, Rainforest Rescue, APEL Green Aceh, Generasi Beutong Ateuh Benggalang, Persatuan Perempuan Beutong, Gayo Rimba Bersatu, and the Lembahtari NGO.
In demanding that Beutong be removed from the mining zone, the delegation also handed over a petition titled “Save Beutong from the Threat of Mining,” bearing 85,196 signatures from around the world, to the Governor of Aceh.
Beutong Ateuh Banggalang is a forest-fringe settlement in the interior of Aceh Province. Its people possess deep wisdom aimed at safeguarding local customs and culture, preferring agriculture over gold panning. For over a decade, this area, which falls within the Leuser rainforest ecosystem, has been targeted by mining syndicates.
“To us, Beutong Ateuh Banggalang must be stripped of its status as a mining zone,” emphasized delegation leader Teungku Malikul Aziz. As is widely known, the Central Government designated the Beutong Ateuh Banggalang area as a strategic mining investment zone under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Decree No. 86 of 2022 concerning Mining Zones of Aceh Province.
Responding to the residents’ demands, Governor Muzakir Manaf said: “We will not hand over Beutong to outside parties; our natural resources are strictly for the welfare of the Acehnese people. We are currently preparing a Qanun (local regulation) on Community Mining. Residents can form cooperatives and manage it themselves,” the governor stated.
Unsatisfied with the governor’s rhetoric, which seemed to miss the core aspirations of the Beutong people, community representatives then visited the Aceh Regional House of Representatives (DPRA) building the following Tuesday.
“We came here to seek support from our elected representatives so that Beutong can be excluded from the national mining zone,” the residents reiterated to the Chairman of Commission I of the DPRA.
The hearing with Commission I of the DPRA concluded with the submission of the petition document “Save Beutong from the Threat of Mining,” which was launched on the hutanhujan.org website in Indonesian, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian.
The petition, amplified since 2024, has drawn immense international attention and has been signed by 85,584 people worldwide who joined the call: *Save Beutong from Mining!*
