Police doubt identities of anti-IMK demonstrators
Friday, March 31 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
Police chief of North Barito, Central Kalimantan doubted that the people, who recently held demonstration at the national police headquarters against the operation of gold mining company PT Indo Muro Kencana, were the Dayak people living around the company's gold mine, Kapos daily reported.
"Are they really the residents of North Barito? If they are, why are there no protests here?" Lt. Col. Sugeng S. Kartodinoto said.
Sugeng was commenting the recent demonstration held by around 50 people, mainly women and children, who claimed to be the Dayak people living around the company's gold mine in Central Kalimantan, at the national police headquarters in Jakarta.
The demonstrators, who were organized by the Indonesian Forum for Environment, demanded police stop meddling with the land dispute between the local people and the company. They also demanded police release the villagers detained by the local police in an operation to stop the months-long occupation of the company's contract area. Besides, they demanded police to stop blocking food supplies to the people who were still occupying the gold mine.
Thousands of villagers have been occupying the gold mine since March last year, claiming the land belonged to their ancestors and the company had not yet fully paid compensations for the land.
Sugeng said the National Commission of Human Rights contacted him soon after the demonstration asking him to release the villagers from jail.
Sugeng said he promised to release the villagers soon, noting the police did not violate human rights in capturing the people.
Commenting on the demonstrators' demand for the police to stop meddling with the dispute between the company and the villagers, Sugeng said the local police were now guarding the gold mine at the request of the company, the local authorities and council.
He also denied that the police had blocked food supplies to the villagers still occupying the gold mine.
He said the police blocked all access roads to the gold mine at the request of the regency administration based on the mining law that categorized mining contract areas as restricted areas.
Sugeng said he did not believe the villagers who were still occupying the gold mine would run out of food and die of starvation.
"How come they will get starved? They are now playing billiard and karaoke in the occupied areas. What starvation?" Sugeng asked. (*)