Lawmakers criticize Vico for not showing up at scheduled meeting

Samarinda lawmakers in East Kalimantan strongly criticized the management of oil and gas firm PT Vico Indonesia for failing to show up at a scheduled meeting with protesting villagers, the local Kaltim Post daily reported Monday.

The villagers of the Sungai Siring area have long demanded Vico to pay some Rp 4 billion (US$1=Rp 9700) in compensation because the company?s seismic activity in 1997 had caused fire and damage around 2,000 ha of land and plants on it. The Samarinda legislative council has been asked by the villagers to help in negotiation with Vico.

?They (Vico) don?t have any good intention to settle this problem,? said head of the council?s commission D Andi Machmud.

He said that the villagers could not be faulted if patience are thinning out and they decided to take their action against Vico.

The paper said that the Vico management was supposed to show up at the negotiation table on April 4. The council has proposed a new schedule on April 11.

?The villagers are getting impatient,? warned legislator Marcos Itjau.(*)