Over 5,000 protest Indorayon's reopening<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
Over 5,000 people from the Lake Toba area gathered in the North
\nSumatra town of Porsea on Sunday to express opposition to the
\ncentral government's decision to allow PT Indorayon Pulp and
\nPaper to resume operations.<\/p>\n
Present at the protest was House of Representatives (DPR)
\nlegislator Tunggul Sirait, chairman of the Batak Toba Forum
\n(Parbato) Ompu Monang Napitupulu, and Indonesian Forum for the
\nEnvironment (Walhi) director Effendi Panjaitan as well as non-
\ngovernmental organization (NGO) activists.<\/p>\n
According to House Commission VIII member Sirait, his
\ncommission and the government had reached an agreement not to
\nallow Indorayon, blamed for environmental destruction in the
\narea, to resume operations unless it was relocated outside
\nPorsea.<\/p>\n
\"I'm disappointed with the government's decision not to abide
\nby the agreement,\" Sirait told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.<\/p>\n
He did not say when they had reached the agreement, but a
\nCabinet meeting had approved Indorayon's reopening in May.<\/p>\n
Indorayon is to resume operations under a different name -- PT
\nToba Pulp Lestari.<\/p>\n
Set up in 1986 with startup capital of US$600 million,
\nIndorayon had been held responsible for the declining water level
\nof Lake Toba and illegal logging in North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Local people also accused the company of dumping poisonous
\nwaste water directly into Asahan River, polluting the air and
\ncausing lung disease among local people.<\/p>\n
Sirait vowed to mobilize DPR members to question the
\ngovernment's decision to allow Indorayon to operate under a
\ndifferent name.<\/p>\n
\"I will continue fighting not only in the House but also with
\nthe people of Porsea to demand that Indorayon's license to
\noperate be revoked or at least moved out of Porsea,\" he said.<\/p>\n
North Sumatra's Walhi chairman, Effendi Panjaitan, questioned
\nthe government's decision to allow Indorayon to reopen its
\noperation without consulting Porsea's inhabitants.<\/p>\n
\"Ideally, the local people should have given approval before
\nthe government allows Indorayon to resume operations. Local
\npeople still oppose the reopening of the company,\" Panjaitan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Bowing to public pressure to close down the plant, former
\npresident Abdurrahman Wahid ordered the closure of the company in
\n2000 for environmental reasons.<\/p>\n
Dozens of people were killed in a series of demonstrations
\nagainst the company owned by businessman Sukamto Tanoto of the
\nRadja Garuda Mas Group.<\/p>\n
Listed both on the Jakarta and New York stock exchange,
\nIndorayon exports pulp and paper products to a number of European
\ncountries, Japan and the United States.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/over-5000-protest-indorayons-reopening-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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