E. Kalimantan villagers block Vico?s oil rig activities
Tuesday, October 15 2002 - 03:03 AM WIB
The villagers? action, which started on Sunday, ended on Monday afternoon after they were told that Vico had in fact planned to cover the costs of their moving to temporary resettlement areas. The people were from Muara Badak village in Kutai Kartanegara regency, East Kalimantan.
Vico?s public relations manager Syaiful Rachman said the blocking of its activities had not caused serious losses on the part of the company.
Syaiful admitted that activities at Vico?s rig had caused noise, and that oil rigs were normally noisy when they were functioning.
He said Vico, which is a subsidiary of BP PLC, had provided people from Muarabadak and other villages with facilities to improve their lifestyle, which were valued at no less than Rp1.6 billion (US$=Rp9,300).
Last May, dozens of people from different villagers in Muara Java district blockaded a road leading to Vico?s project. They complained that the firm?s activities had caused pollution in their areas. (*)