Police stop protesters from entering Caltex complex
Tuesday, August 24 2004 - 03:05 AM WIB
The police successfully prevented about 50 students from entering the office complex of PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) in Rumbai, Pekanbaru on Monday following a threat from the Riau Youth Committee (KPR) to blockade the oil company's oil facilities in the province, Media Indonesia reported on Tuesday.
The young people arrived at Caltex's Rumbai office in the afternoon on Monday but about 100 policemen who had been deployed to protect the area prevented them from entering the office complex.
The representatives of the protesters then agreed to hold talks with senior official of the local office of BP Migas, Hardijanto. In the negotiation, the young people demanded the government to raise the portion of the oil production share to the province to 70 percent from 15 percent at present.
The protesters said the protest would become a larger protest if the government fails to answer their demand within 2 x 24 hours.
The Riau Youth Committee or KPR, last week, threatened to mobilize its 5,000 members to blockade oil fields operated by PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) in the province to demand for a higher revenue split for the province. (*)