Villagers in Riau demand compensation from Caltex
Thursday, August 31 2000 - 04:30 AM WIB
At least 60 families living near the exploration activities of PT Caltex Pasific Indonesia (CPI) in Duri, Riau province have demanded the oil giant to buy their residential areas because the waste resulting from the company's exploration works made their place no longer suitable for a living.
The villagers said that their residential areas had been surrounded by the oil giant's pit development projects, which did not only produced waste but also made the access to the villages more difficult.
The head of the Mandau district Zulkarnaen said he understood the villagers' complaints and urged the oil giant to consider the villagers' demand.
He said that he had sent a letter to the oil giant's management and he hoped the company and the protesting villagers would be able to settle their dispute amicably. (*)