Police acts to end Unocal blockage
Monday, October 9 2000 - 05:00 AM WIB
Police took actions on Sunday to end the blockage by villagers of the facilities owned by oil and gas company Unocal Indonesia Company, a subsidiary of American energy firm Unocal Corp, in Tanjung Santan, Bontang district, East Kalimantan.
Unocal's public relations manager Erwin Lebe confirmed that police had taken the action to end the blockade, saying the move was made at the request of Unocal.
"We told the police if the blockage remained, we had to decrease or stop production in one or two days. On the other hand, the government has asked us to increase production," Erwin told Petromindo.Com on Monday.
Kaltim Post and Kompas reported that the local police fielded Sunday morning about 60 officers of the Brimob elite force to end the blockage, which started in Sept. 25.
The action turned into a clash between the police and the villagers, during which 21 villagers were injured from gunshot and rattan beatings, according to Kompas.
Kaltim Post aside from the wounded villagers, two villagers were missing after the incident.
The villagers of Marangkayu and Sebuntai established a blockade at the canal linking the Santan Terminal to the offshore oil platforms owned by Unocal in the area in a bid to pressure the company to pay compensations for the damaged agricultural land.
The dispute between the villagers and the company started two years ago, in which the villagers accused Unocal of polluting their agricultural lands. Unocal has repeatedly denied the accusation.
Bontang police chief Superintendent Sudarno said the police had arrested five villagers for questioning and confiscated a number of sharp weapons and gasoline bombs from the villagers.
"We have tried to persuade the villagers to stop their actions, but to no avail. Now, we have to open (the canal) and push them. Of course, there was a clash and there were injuries," Sudarno said.
Muhammad Ramli, the local coordinator of the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) non-governmental organization, regretted the use of force by the police to end the blockage, saying the repressive action ran counter to humanity.
He called on the Bontang police chief to step down for breaking his promise not to take repressive measure to end the blockage and urged Unocal to temporarily stop operations following the incident.
Buherah, director of the Marakayu Society Caring for Environment, denied the police's claim that the villagers resisted the police' action.
He said some of the villagers were still sleeping at their camps when the police arrived and open fire on them and beat them with rattans.
He said he would report the case to the National Commission for Human Rights and the Kontras missing person advocacy group. (*)