A much smaller 'war' in Aceh's paradise isle

Lesley McCulloh, Lecturer, Asian Politics, University of Tasmania, Australia

On the island of Simeulue, a remote corner in the far northwest of the archipelago, the local people are fighting their own type of war. This is no war such as the one being waged in Simeulue's closest neighbor Aceh -- 100 kilometers east by sea. But it is against logging companies who are intent on exploiting the island's pristine forests.

More than half of Simeulue's land mass is forest. The logging companies have arrived, most are majority foreign owned. Their presence is ostensibly to clear land for plantations, but in the majority of cases, the plantations never materialize. Most of the forest is virgin and harbors a wealth of wildlife including nine different species of monkey. The trees are valuable old wood in the areas where the concessions have been granted.

For the majority of the population on Simeulue economic development has been elusive. The people are only just beginning to waken up to the island's potential. But there is an acute awareness that protection of the island's natural resources and beauty is the people's future. Such realization has led to dispute. One is alerted to this immediately on arrival at the tiny airport where several campaign posters against the logging are pasted.

Rauhil Nayan, a local environmental activist said "the condition of the logging permit granted to the companies in Simeulue is in all but one case, to clear land for plantations. But we have no plantations. Also, many of the companies log outside their areas, so encroaching on land owned by the local people." A local forestry official countered this by saying that "the villagers always accuse the companies of this. But the truth is that the local people don't know the boundaries. There is no illegal logging by the companies in Simeulue."

On Jan. 2 however, it was reported in Serambi Indonesia that a ship carrying 1,000 cubic meters of illegally cut wood was discovered heading to India. Rauhil said that "this wood was not cut by local people as the forestry department so often suggests. The locals don't have the capacity. Only the big companies could do this."

The problem on Simeulue is that most of the roads are unpaved and the logging areas virtually inaccessible to those unequipped with special vehicles. On a recent trip to a remote corner of the island to visit the operations of PT Panto Teungku Abadi a Thai corporation venture, I found the trucks, earthmovers, chainsaws and workers standing idle. In the company canteen the workers, largely Thai, sat around chatting. One worker, speaking on condition of anonymity said "it has been like this for almost a month. We have been unable to work because of trouble with the local people. The last shipment of wood left two weeks ago."

The reason the company is unable to work is that the roads to the forest have been blocked by people from the local village of Labuhan Bajau. This is conflict -- Simeulue style. The roadblocks are flimsy, easily removed. The local police have removed them twice already only for them to be replaced. Local policeman Yusra Liddin said "we won't remove the roadblocks again. Most of the police stationed here are locals, and we agree with the people of the village."

Head of the village Ali Arman, said that the problems are numerous. "The land that has been cleared for plantation floods regularly causing environmental problems. And the company has not yet paid the Rp 13,000 per meter that it agreed to pay for use of the road. It has also given very little of the community development assistance it promised to help build a Muslim school and to help with the local mosque."

In addition, says Arman, the company does not employ one person from the local vicinity, so the effect of the company's presence has 'been more bad than good.' In fact, of the 43 employees registered with the local government office, 27 are Thai and only 16 Indonesians with only five of these from Simeulue, but not from the local vicinity. Arman says 'we want the company to leave, but we also want them to pay what they owe for the use they have already made of the road.'

Several representations by the people of Labuhan Bajau, a village of around 2,000 to the local Regent's office in Sinabang -- the island's capital town -- has achieved very little. So, the people decided to fight back. The result has been that the local government is now involved in trying to broker an agreement between the two parties to the dispute. In fact, the local regency office is extremely busy with disputes involving the logging companies on Simeulue. Labuhan Bajau is just one example.

The people of Simeulue know of the wholesale destruction of forests elsewhere in Indonesia and are determined that this will not be repeated there. Of course, there are vested interests at stake. The local government is accused of colluding with the companies. There is also some evidence to suggest that the local police and military provide "protection" to the companies, are paid to ignore the illegal logging and are also involved in facilitating shipping.

But in Labuhan Bajau, for the time being at least, the locals have the local police on-side. The police have been paid by the company to protect their operations, but the police are more afraid of the villagers than the company.

There are several important questions that arise from this story. Why are the companies able to log outwith their permit areas with such ease? How is it possible that 1,000 cubic meters of wood left Simuelue without local police and military knowledge? And why, when the Regent issues an order on June 5 2001 that all logging should cease until further permission granted, was PT Panto Teungku Abadi able to continue until the locals took the law into their own hands?

The answers lie in the collusion between the companies, the police and military, and it is alleged, local government officials. So it seems, even on this paradise island, untouched by the problems of "mainland" Aceh, the locals have a struggle on their hands. Fought Simeulue style, it is just possible they will win and that the beauty of the forests will be preserved.