Bahumatefe, One Pute Jaya people reject INCO offer

About 500 families of transmigrants in the villages of Bahumatefe and One Pute Jaya in Morowali regency in Central Sulawesi rejected the offer from PT International Nikel Indonesia (INCO) to relocate them to a new resettlement area as the company would conduct mining activities in their villages that the company claims to be its concession areas.

The head of One Pute Jaya village, Eddy Katili, said in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu that the residents rejected the offer because the new relocation site was not good for farming activities. Besides, they had lived in their transmigration sites for decades and the lands had given lives to them.

"People categorically rejected the presence of the company and refused to be relocated because their areas had been giving lives to them," Eddy said, adding that the villagers were now awaiting the land certificates from the National Land Agency (BPN).

Meanwhile, the head of Central Sulawesi BPN, Gunawan, said that his office had issued certificates for Mahumatefe and One Pute Jaya villages under the name of the transmigrants. But thus far, the certificates had not yet been handed over to the people because the Central Sulawesi governor barred it following claims from INCO.

Gunawan said records in his office showed that lands in Bahumatefe and One Pute Jaya belonged to the transmigrants, and not to INCO. In addition, INCO never gave BPN copies of the map of its concession areas.

He said whenever there was a green light from the governor to give the land certificates to the transmigrants, his office would do so quickly.

Meanwhile, the head of the Central Sulawesi's legal bureau, Syahril Alatas, said that his party had agreed to facilitate the relocation of people in Bahumatefe, One Pute Jaya and other villages to a new relocation site.

He said INCO had allocated a total fund of Rp 7 billion to relocate the transmigrants. The company had spent Rp 3 billion to relocate about 200 families from Saembawalati village to a new relocation site.

But this relocation project had apparently failed because the people refused to live in the new relocation site as it was a marshy area that was reclaimed, and therefore, the area was not good for farming activities. Besides, the lands had been claimed by local people as their traditional lands.

Syahril said that his administration acted only as a facilitator, and not as a peacemaker, between INCO and local people. And the administration had established a 10-people team to help facilitate their conflicts.

Meanwhile, Arianto Sangadji, director of Free Land Foundation (YTM) that had been providing legal aids to the villagers, expressed his concerns over the planned relocation of villagers to a new site that was not economically viable for the villagers, and demanded the administration and BPN to hand over the land certificates to the villagers.

The villagers, with the help of YTM, plan to sue INCO, BPN and Central Sulawesi administration over the dispute. (*)