Papuans demand removal of BP Indonesia?s senior worker

Residents of Sengga village in Babo district, Manokwari, Papua have demanded BP Indonesia to remove John Honse, an American citizen working as a camp construction superintendent in the company?s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in the area for ignoring their aspiration, Suara Karya reported on Wednesday.

In a statement signed by seven tribal chiefs, the local people strongly opposed the presence of the 60-year old Honse whom they said ignored the aspiration of the local people in the area where the Tangguh LNG project would be built.

Copies of the statement have been also sent to Vice President of BP Indonesia, Director General of Immigration, Minister of Manpower, American Ambassador, Governor of Papua, Regent of Manokwari, the chief of the Papua Police and to the heads of several other government?s agencies in the province.

The local people said that they strongly supported the presence of the company in their district but the appointment of Honse as a superintendent in the company?s camp construction project could incite conflicts among the local people.

They said that Honse?s policy to prioritize to hire workers from outside the district instead of the people who reside in the area would not only discredit the local villagers but also could incite conflicts between the locals and those originating from other parts of Papua. (*)