Rector of Unri calls on mass protests at Caltex

The rector of the University of Riau (Unri) Muchtar Admad has called on his students and other people in the province to occupy properties of PT Caltex Pasific Indonesia and Pertamina in Rumbai and Dumai as pressure to the government to fulfill its promise to transfer the management of the Coastal Plains Pekanbaru (CPP) oil block to the local government.

"This way (mass protests) will be more affective than inviting Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri to the province," he told Berpolitik.Com on Friday in his response to noted lawyer Buyung Nasution's advise that the province needed to invite the Vice President to see herself about the local people's aspiration to manage the oil block.

Only with such a pressure, the government would heed the local people's demand, Muchtar said, citing that last year the government agreed to allocate 15 percent of the oil production to local provinces only after students in Riau occupied some parts of Caltex properties.

President Abdurrahman agreed last year to allow the Riau province to manage the CPP oil block, once the contract, which is now held by Caltex, expired in August next year. But until now, no final approval was issued although the local province said it was ready to operate the oil block. (*)