East Kalimantan villagers demand compensation from Unocal

People from three villages in the Sangatta area of the East Kalimantan province held a protest at the local House of Representatives on Tuesday to demand oil and gas firm PT Unocal Indonesia to pay compensation for the environmental destruction caused by the company's operation.

The local Samarinda Post (Sapos) daily quoted one protester as saying that they have suffered rice and fish harvest failure because of the environmental damage.

The villagers also demanded Unocal to return a piece of land in the Semangkok Village, which they claimed to belong to the village.

"We insist Unocal to be responsible for the land and environmental destruction, and compensate all the losses," Abdullah, one of the protesters said.

He added that if the company failed to fulfill the demand, the villagers would force the company to stop its operation. (*)