Arutmin halts activities as residents block the road
Saturday, March 4 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
At least 150 residents of the Sembilang village in the Kelumpang district in South Kalimantan blocked on Wednesday the road used by PT Arutmin Senakin to transport its coal to a receiving terminal.
The villagers demanded the compensation payment for the land, which has been used by the company for at least 16 years as part of its concession area. The protest caused a total halt in the mining company's acitivities for at least 12 hours.
The protestors, which raised a number banners protesting the presence of the company in the area, charged the company which is controlled by Australian mining giant BHP, with ignoring their rights
"The company has operated here more than 16 years but we never received a compensation for our land," a resident said. The villagers' demonstration, which started early in the moring until late in the afternoon, was closely guarded by the local police but no incidents were reported.
The company's management refused to talk to the protesters until the company's senior official contacted the headquarter office in Balikpapan. No major breakthrough was resulted from the talks but the two sides agreed to resume the negotiations on Thuresday in the presence of the local government's officials.
The villagers threatened the company to continue their protest if the company refused to meet their demand.
Meanwhile, the situation on the road connecting Rantau and Binuang towns was quite on the last two days after the local authority temporarily banned coal mining companies from using the road to transport their coal.
The 30 kilometer road, the only available road for the local companies to transport their coal, has been badly damaged. The local residents accused the companies as the main culprits, which damaged the road. (*)