Rights body handles high voltage woe<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The human rights body has promised to bring to
\nits April meeting with Coordinating Minister for Political
\nAffairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman the complaint of some
\nNorth Sulawesi villagers on the installment of high voltage
\ntransmission cables over their homes.<\/p>\n
Commission member Roekmini Koesoemo Astoety, who once
\nexpressed amazement that the body has to handle complaints
\nranging from killing and torture to transmission cables, said it
\nwill also discuss the matter with Governor E.E. Mangindaan.<\/p>\n
"Development is for the people, and if people can't accept
\nsome aspects of the development, everybody concerned should find
\nout why," she said.<\/p>\n
More than 120 Kaneyan villagers in Minahasa regency earlier
\nthis month lodged a complaint to the Commission over the
\ninstallment by the state-owned electricity company PLN of the
\ntransmission over their houses.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, a number of non-governmental organizations met with
\nRoekmini to urge that the Commission handle the complaint soon.
\nThe groups included the Indonesian Environmental Forum (WALHI)
\nand the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID).<\/p>\n
Representatives of the villagers, Robby Pongkorung and Erens
\nManembu, said in their letter to the Commission that PLN promised
\nlast year to remove the transmission cables, but failed to do so.
\nOfficials have not responded to the complaints, either.<\/p>\n
Robby, however, said the Ministry of Health has written to
\nthem testifying to the negative impact of electricity fields on
\nhuman health.<\/p>\n
The Kaneyan villagers also complained about the involvement of
\nlocal police and military officers in the case.<\/p>\n
There have been a number of similar cases brought to the
\nCommission over the past several years, including those in the
\nEast Java town of Gresik, in Bandung, West Java, and in Cileduk
\ndistrict, Tangerang.<\/p>\n
In the last case, residents of a housing complex protested the
\nelectricity company's plan to erect 500 kilovolt cables over
\ntheir houses in 1991. The plan was eventually scrapped.<\/p>\n
In Gresik, some 92 residents filed a lawsuit in 1994 against
\nthe government and PLN for erecting high voltage electricity
\ncables over their homes, causing severe distress and health
\nhazards. Among the health complaints often cited by residents
\nwere headaches, insomnia and other illnesses. (31)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rights-body-handles-high-voltage-woe-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}