Buyat residents demand relocation

Buyat residents demand relocation

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

People living in the vicinity of the polluted Buyat Bay in
Minahasa, North Sulawesi, demanded on Thursday that they be
relocated, as the area was no longer inhabitable.

"The government told us not to drink the water in our village,
but there is no other source of water here. The local
administration has also terminated its water aid," Buyat resident
Anwar told members of the Regional Representatives Council on
Thursday in the capital.

A group of Buyat residents met with council members Kasmir Tri
Putra of Lampung, Aryanti Baramuli Putri of North Sulawesi and
Abdul M. Kilian of Papua to convey their requests.

The government has declared Buyat Bay contaminated with
arsenic, allegedly from tailings disposed by PT Newmont Minahasa
Raya, which had been operating in the area since 1996.

The mining firm recently closed operations as planned.

Six Newmont executives have been named suspects in the
pollution case, and prosecutors announced early this week that
their case files were ready to be submitted to court.

Another Buyat resident, Mansyur, complained that they were
forced to stop fishing, as fish from the polluted bay were not
fit for consumption due to their high heavy metal content.

Further, Anwar alleged that dozens of women in Buyat Bay
village had developed anal and vaginal hemorrhage.

"Doctors there did not recognize the condition, and we don't
have any money to go to the hospital, because the local
administration has stopped providing medical assistance," he told
council members.

Kasmir told the Buyat Bay delegation that they would convey
the requests to Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi
Shihab.

"We will also discuss the issue during a council plenary
meeting on Dec. 10," he said, adding that the council would be
monitoring the trials of the six Newmont executives.

Separately, the Indonesian Association of Geological Experts
(IAGI) has called for a fresh round of tests, as its analysis of
12 reports on Buyat did not reveal any signs of pollution.

"There is a high level of arsenic in several residential wells
in Buyat. IAGI has considered several possible causes of the high
level of arsenic in the wells related to the geology and
hydrology of the area, which need a thorough examination," it
said in a statement.