Indigenous group in Riau seeks 1% of Caltex profits

Residents of Riau province who lost their land to PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) are urging the mining firm to donate 1% of its total profits to boost the living standards of the local community, a report said yesterday.

Detikworld said the Sakai indigenous people accuse Caltex of "robbing and exploiting their land without considering their future".

The online news agency said M. Yatim, a community elder from the Sakai tribe, has sought support for his people's plight from Danish Ambassador Michael Stenberg.

The ambassador returned to Jakarta yesterday after visiting Riau.

Detikworld quoted him as saying that he plans to expose human rights violations and environmental destruction caused by waste disposal practices in the province.

Stenberg had met with Yatim at the office of a non-governmental organization called the Riau Forum for a United Indonesia.

Yatim said Caltex had neglected the Sakai community and taken over its traditional land without bothering to pay adequate compensation. "Just imagine, up till now, the Sakai tribe has never enjoyed electricity," he was quoted as saying.

The elder then said that if his community's demand for 1% of PT CPI's profit is rejected, he will stage a rally and at the firm's office in Pekanbaru city. The Sakai people aren't the only ones wanting money from Caltex. The Riau provincial government has reportedly announced that it wants 10% of PT CPI shares.

Detikworld said the Danish ambassador promised to bring the Sakai community's concerns before the Danish parliament.

Stenberg was quoted as saying he "would be ready to struggle for the Sakai tribe" in order to get the 1% from PT Caltex. "I will report this matter to the parliament in my country," he said.

The ambassador was speaking during a press conference at Kantata Bangsa Foundation in Pekanbaru yesterday before returning to Jakarta. Kantata Bangsa Foundation is chaired by Rusli Ahmad. Also present at the press conference was Tabrani Rab, a man regarded by many as the person who would lead Riau if it ever gained independence.

Stenberg said he had gone to several places in Riau to observe first-hand human rights violations and the waste disposal practices of companies operating in the province in central-eastern Sumatra. He was quoted as saying that human rights violations and environmental destruction through pollution have reached alarming levels.

PT CPI has denied claims that it is responsible for serious pollution or any tough land rights policies of the former regime of ex-president Soeharto.

Stenberg said he was quite concerned by the condition of people living along the Siak River. "I talked to the people living along the Siak riverbank, they said they could not fish in the river. They said that industrial waste dumped into the river had killed the fish. I was very concerned to see this condition," he was quoted as saying.

He said the Danish government will bring the problem before the international community.

PT CPI has had to put up with a string of protests and demonstrations this year. Several of its vehicles have been seized and one was destroyed.

Roads leading to the company's wells and rigs have often been blockaded. (*)