Aceh wants 80% of revenues from natural resources

Aceh wants 80% of revenues from natural resources

JAKARTA (JP): Aceh has proposed to the government it be given
80 percent of all revenue from natural resources in the province.

Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh said here on Thursday the
distribution of revenue from natural resources should be
regulated through a special law.

"The province's local legislative council has formally sent a
revenue sharing proposal (to the central government)," Abdullah
said after a ceremony here in which the governor symbolically
accepted humanitarian aid from state oil and gas company
Pertamina.

The government is drafting a special autonomy bill for Aceh
and Irian Jaya in a bid to subdue growing calls for independence
in the two provinces.

Puteh said Aceh's demand for 80 percent of revenue from
natural resources should be clearly outlined in the bill.

Irian Jaya has made similar demands, asking for an additional
"percentage" of the revenue from natural resources on top of what
it is allocated under the current intergovernmental fiscal
balance law.

Under this law, provinces receive 80 percent of the revenue
from the mining, forestry and fishery sectors.

But for the oil and gas sectors, the intergovernmental fiscal
balance law allocates provinces 15 percent and 30 percent,
respectively.

Puteh said the main consideration behind the proposal was that
Aceh simply deserved to receive a higher share of the revenue
than the central government.

"We are looking at our current condition in Aceh; our economic
recovery and the various social and community issues," he said.

The province has been torn apart by years of fighting between
the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and government security forces.

The violence has continued despite the humanitarian pause
signed last May by representatives of GAM and the government.

Calls among the Acehnese for a referendum similar to the one
held in East Timor in 1999 intensified during GAM's anniversary
commemoration last week.

The continued violence has virtually halted investment in the
province, and companies have stepped up security measures to
protect their operations.

In April, GAM members wounded two employees of the American
Exxon-Oil Mobil Inc., in an attack on an airfield run by the
company in Lhokseumawe.

A month later, the oil company was forced to temporarily halt
its exploration and administrative activities due to rising
security concerns.

Exxon-Mobil Indonesia operates Arun, one of the country's
largest gas fields.

"Based on the aspirations of the people of Aceh, the best
(revenue) split is 80 percent and 20 percent," Abdullah said.

He said the local government was calculating how much more
money it would receive under the proposal. Abdullah added that
the local government also was interested in acquiring a stake in
Exxon-Mobil.

"I actually want the local government to have a stake in every
company operating in Aceh," he added.

Pertamina donated Rp 43.7 billion (US$4.6 million) in
humanitarian aid in the form of school busses and ambulances,
among other items.

The donation was handed over in conjunction with Pertamina's
43rd anniversary.(bkm)