Buyat residents urge 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.