E. Kalimantan military supports police to prevent coal shipment blockade

East Kalimantan military authorities will support the local police to deal with people who try to blockade activities of coal mining giant PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), Tanjungpura military commander Maj Gen Hadi Waluyo said on Wednesday as reported by local daily Kaltim Post.

?All lines of the Armed Forces in this region will fully back up the police to handle the situation,? Hadi told reporters.

At least 10 mass organizations in East Kalimantan which are grouped in the so-called Alliance of East Kalimantan People?s Struggle (Alpera) had threatened to blockade the shipment of KPC?s coal from the province. The organizations demanded that the divestment of 51 percent of KPC shares be made by June 30 as planned, and that the shares be sold to East Kalimantan.

So far it remains unclear whether the June 30 deadline will be met.

The central government recently decided that the 51 percent shares of KPC will be sold to three categories of buyers namely state enterprises, Indonesian private investors and East Kalimantan Province which still insists that it become the preferred bidder for the shares.

KPC operates a huge coalmine in Sangatta in East Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan. World mining and energy giants Rio Tinto and BP Plc equally own the firm.

A significant portion of KPC?s coal goes to Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. (*)