Villagers demand KEM to pay compensation
Wednesday, August 25 2004 - 03:07 AM WIB
Hundreds of villagers who claimed to represent more than 5,000 people living near the mining area of PT Kelian Equatorial Mining (KEM) in East Kalimantan held a sit-in protest in front of the office of the regent of West Kutai regency on Tuesday, Kaltim Post reported on Wednesday.
The villagers demanded the gold mining company, which is now in the process of closing its mining area, to pay compensation to the local villagers for the land used by the company and for the loss of business opportunities resulting from the company's operation.
The protesters demanded PT KEM to pay compensation amounting Rp 19.3 million to each of the residents. The compensation payment comprises of Rp 17 million for the loss of works due to the company's operation and the remainders for the land included by the company in its mining area. Most of the people near the company's mining area worked as traditional miners before KEM received a permit to develop the gold mine area.
The newspaper however did not explain why the residents made their protests when PT KEM is about to close its mining area. The company has decided to end its activities in the area due to the depletion in the gold deposits. (*)