3,000 march in peaceful protest of cable installation
3,000 march in peaceful protest of cable installation
JAKARTA (JP): Around 3,000 people from four villages in Bogor
regency staged a peaceful protest against the installation of
high-voltage cables in their area Saturday.
People from the villages of Cibentang, Ciseeng, Cihohe and
Kuripan began the march in the morning, causing a prolonged
traffic jam, a resident said.
As of Saturday evening, residents had not dispersed, saying
they were waiting for electricians to stop the installation
process.
Several were arrested but no violence was reported, a lawyer
representing residents, Bismo Pratonggopati, said.
Bismo, a member of the Nusantara Legal Aid Foundation in
Bogor, 60 kilometers south of here, said he was surprised the
incident happened.
On Friday, he said, he had already asked the Bogor police
precinct chief, Lt. Col. Ruslan Riza, to postpone the project
before the dispute over compensation was settled.
"The police chief assured me everything would be conducted in
a civil way," Bismo said. Ruslan did not explicitly agree to
postpone the project, the lawyer added.
Last Monday, a group of youths claiming to represent residents
protested in front of the German Embassy. Germany partly financed
the project of PT PLN, the state-run electricity company.
The residents staged a sit-in along the 20-kilometer street
connecting the Parung district in Bogor and the Rumpin district
in Tangerang, during which they chanted prayers.
Last month, residents said they endured the worst clash
compared to three earlier encounters with police, when several
residents were beaten.
Bismo said the people resisted the installation of the 500-
kilovolt cable because it forced them to live under the danger of
electric radiation.
More than 100 families live on the 91,800 square meters of
land which PT PLN is appropriating for the project.
PLN had agreed to demands to relocate them, but only agreed to
pay compensation for their fruit trees, and not for their land
and houses.
Bismo said several were arrested apparently for trying to
prevent electricians from working on the project.
The lawyer estimated around 300 security officers were
deployed to guard 40 cable towers along the four villages.
He said unlike last month, the cable installation was not
executed manually. On Saturday, electricians drew the cable from
the central electricity control station in Cinere, South Jakarta.
He said the method was used because it was less visible to
residents, who might disrupt the process.
A resident, Dedy, said the sit-in was joined by more residents
at 11 a.m.
Bismo said several residents questioned whether security
officials intentionally intended to incite their resentment,
given the continued operation of the installation.
Earlier, noted lawyer Luhut Pangaribuan blamed legal
inconsistency over the unrest. He said a 1992 decree of the
Ministry of Mines and Energy, which excludes compensation for
land and properties passed by high-voltage electricity cables,
does not recognize the danger of living under high voltage
cables. It violates the 1985 law on energy plants, which Luhut
said guarantees compensation for land and houses over which
electricity cables pass. (07)
JAKARTA (JP): Around 3,000 people from four villages in Bogor
regency staged a peaceful protest against the installation of
high-voltage cables in their area Saturday.
People from the villages of Cibentang, Ciseeng, Cihohe and
Kuripan began the march in the morning, causing a prolonged
traffic jam, a resident said.
As of Saturday evening, residents had not dispersed, saying
they were waiting for electricians to stop the installation
process.
Several were arrested but no violence was reported, a lawyer
representing residents, Bismo Pratonggopati, said.
Bismo, a member of the Nusantara Legal Aid Foundation in
Bogor, 60 kilometers south of here, said he was surprised the
incident happened.
On Friday, he said, he had already asked the Bogor police
precinct chief, Lt. Col. Ruslan Riza, to postpone the project
before the dispute over compensation was settled.
"The police chief assured me everything would be conducted in
a civil way," Bismo said. Ruslan did not explicitly agree to
postpone the project, the lawyer added.
Last Monday, a group of youths claiming to represent residents
protested in front of the German Embassy. Germany partly financed
the project of PT PLN, the state-run electricity company.
The residents staged a sit-in along the 20-kilometer street
connecting the Parung district in Bogor and the Rumpin district
in Tangerang, during which they chanted prayers.
Last month, residents said they endured the worst clash
compared to three earlier encounters with police, when several
residents were beaten.
Bismo said the people resisted the installation of the 500-
kilovolt cable because it forced them to live under the danger of
electric radiation.
More than 100 families live on the 91,800 square meters of
land which PT PLN is appropriating for the project.
PLN had agreed to demands to relocate them, but only agreed to
pay compensation for their fruit trees, and not for their land
and houses.
Bismo said several were arrested apparently for trying to
prevent electricians from working on the project.
The lawyer estimated around 300 security officers were
deployed to guard 40 cable towers along the four villages.
He said unlike last month, the cable installation was not
executed manually. On Saturday, electricians drew the cable from
the central electricity control station in Cinere, South Jakarta.
He said the method was used because it was less visible to
residents, who might disrupt the process.
A resident, Dedy, said the sit-in was joined by more residents
at 11 a.m.
Bismo said several residents questioned whether security
officials intentionally intended to incite their resentment,
given the continued operation of the installation.
Earlier, noted lawyer Luhut Pangaribuan blamed legal
inconsistency over the unrest. He said a 1992 decree of the
Ministry of Mines and Energy, which excludes compensation for
land and properties passed by high-voltage electricity cables,
does not recognize the danger of living under high voltage
cables. It violates the 1985 law on energy plants, which Luhut
said guarantees compensation for land and houses over which
electricity cables pass. (07)