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A palm oil firm and villagers locked in a land dispute in northern Sumatra have agreed to settle their differences peacefully, following a clash last week in which six farmers were shot by police.

Brig. Gen. Muhammad Taufik, a National Police spokesman, said on Wednesday that Mazuma Agro Indonesia and the residents of Batang Kumuh village in Rokan Hulu district, Riau, had agreed on a four-step process to end the dispute.

In the first step, he said, both sides would present their title deeds, permits and any other documents supporting their claims to the land in question.

Next, both agreed to suspend all activities on the land until the dispute is resolved. In the third step, land authorities will re-survey the site and measure again the concession granted to MAI.

“Finally, they will await a ruling from the Supreme Court on this matter,” Taufik said.

According to the Riau Palm Oil Farmers Union (SPKS), farmers at Batang Kumuh have been protesting MAI’s activities since 1998. Although the company has a permit from the Mandailing Natal district administration in North Sumatra, the farmers say the land is part of Rokan Hulu district.

The villagers filed suit against MAI in 2009 and won a high court ruling, but the company appealed to the Supreme Court and a decision there is still pending.

The spat turned ugly last Thursday when villagers clashed with Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers and security officials. Six villagers were shot with rubber bullets, and two security workers and four Brimob officers were hurt.

In a separate case, police in Rokan Hulu are investigating an arson attack on Tuesday on the offices of another plantation company, Agro Mitra Rokan, which is also in a land dispute with locals.

Additional reporting from Antara