Governor asked to resign over environment damages

Controversies over illegal coal mining activities in South Kalimantan continued on Monday, with the local branch of noted environmental organization Walhi urging the province's governor, the regent of Kotabaru and the police chief to resign over their alleged involvement in the rampant illegal mining operations in the province.

The chairman of the local branch of Walhi M. Noor Asikin said that three top officials in the province should be held responsible on the rampant illegal mining acitivities, which had not only damaged mining sites but also vasued a major destruction to the province's major public roads.

Walhi made its call after the provincial administration announced its plan to review a ruling issued on January to ban coal mine operators from using the public road to transport their coal to the local port. The ban, which had caused a delay in the shipment of hundreds of tons of coal to overseas and local buyers, was issued following a complaint over serious damages in most of the province's public roads.

Illegal coal miners were believed to be the main culprit, as unlike licensed coal miners, they did not have their own roads to transport their coal.

Noor said that Governor Sjahriel Darham's plan to review the ban indicated that the local administration was not sensitive about the people's aspiration. He also charged that Sjachrani, the local regent of Kotabaru regency, which controls most of the coal mining sites in the province and the police chief Didie Suryono, with siding and cooperating with the illegal mining companies.

He said that the rampant illegal mining continued because the officials, who were responsible to take care about the province's security and environment, did nothing to curb the illgeal mine operations.

However, unlike Walhi, the Front for Peace Reform Action or locally known as Garda, supported the governor's initiative to review the ban. The front, previously known being as outspoken as Walhi in criticizing the local administration's environmental policy, said that the ban would only hurt local companies because unlike their foreign rivals, they could not afford to build their own roads to transport their coal.

The front's chairman Saymsul Daulah said that the governor's plan to review the ban indicated his strong commitment to make local miners the host in their own home. He said most of the province's mineral operations were controlled by the foreign companies because the lack of attention given to the local miners. (*)