Cottage industry on trial

Cottage industry on trial

In response to the news on the trial of eight villagers for
polluting the environment, as carried in the Suara Pembaruan,
newspaper on Aug. 20, 2003, I contacted the village head of
Cinangka, Ciampea district, Bogor, for more information. Titin
Sukanta, the village chief, explained to me that the eight people
had been recycling and reprocessing lead from used batteries to
eke out a living, and actually knew nothing about the law.

I sympathize with these ordinary people who were just working
the best they could to survive by what they thought were
acceptable means. In my view, the office of the state minister of
the environment should provide information and guidance for
small-scale entrepreneurs such as these, in addition to taking
action against violators.

Titin also said the defendants had never received any warning
in writing from the authorities and she hoped to be able to put
together a team of attorneys that could help acquit the
villagers.

As a member of the Foundation for Education and Development of
Pancasila University, Jakarta, I will request the dean of this
university's school of law that a defense counsel be made
available for this purpose.

It is true that lead pollution is hazardous to health. I will
seek the help of the school of pharmacy to eliminate gas (SO2)
and salt (PbSO4) pollution so that the small-scale/cottage
industry businesspeople can safely recycle lead from the millions
of used batteries.

SUNARTO PRAWIROSUJANTO, Jakarta