Cibentang villagers give up fight

JAKARTA (JP): Many of the villagers in Bogor resisting the installation of high-voltage cables gave up their month-long fight over the weekend.

Nipan, 52, a villager from Cibentang, north of Bogor, said Saturday the villagers had become exhausted after weeks of resistance against the installation of the cables.

The cables pass above at least six other villages: Malang Nengah, Cihohe, Kauripan, Gunung Cilincing, Desa Setu and Tiwul.

Those who resisted were predominantly villagers from Cibentang and Malang Nengah. The residents of the latter have not yet decided to give up. Those from the other villages barely reacted.

"We can no longer resist; technicians have been tightly guarded by police officers and soldiers for weeks," Nipan said.

"Moreover, now we are in Ramadhan we are supposed to refrain from violence," he said.

Until two weeks ago only three cables had been installed. On Saturday two more of the 15 lengths of cables were installed.

Witnesses said each electricity pylon was guarded by about 20 soldiers. There are two pylons in each village.

More than 100 families in Cibentang alone are affected by the project. Villagers wanted adequate compensation for their property to be able to move from the potential hazard of living under 500-kilovolt cables. However the state-owned electricity company, PLN, only agreed to provide compensation for their lost fruit trees.

PLN officials said that as residents did not have to give up property they were not entitled to compensation.

Officers at the Parung police precinct and military district said separately that technicians worked without constraint on Saturday.

On Jan. 7 at least two villagers were hurt in a clash with the soldiers. In previous clashes several others were also injured.

Nipan, a spokesman for other villagers, said residents would no longer need their lawyers from the Nusantara Legal Aid Institute.

He said villagers now realized they would never be able to resist the project.

However Nipan said villagers plan to file a lawsuit against the electricity company. Their lawyer, Hasan Giwang, who is not from the institute, was not available for comment.

Institute lawyer Junaidi Mahesa said the office was still considering whether to represent residents considering charging authorities for abusing them, and to demand compensation.

Meanwhile Malang Nengah villagers still want legal representation. However, they too have become weaker, he said. (07)