Fishermen protest against PT THIESS

BALIKPAPAN, East Kalimantan: Following an earlier protest, hundreds of fishermen in Balikpapan demanded on Tuesday that PT Thiess Contractor Indonesia provide them with compensation due to the drop in their fish catch. Speaking to the media in Balikpapan, the fishermen said that low catchment was due to the construction of a special port being built by PT Thiess that damaged the environment in Manggar Baru beach areas. The fishermen demanded Rp 1 billion (US$106,382) in compensation.

Earlier, on Monday, some 500 fishermen visited the office of PT Thiess Contractor Indonesia in Balikpapan and voiced their concern over the special port construction.

The representative of PT TCI said that they had implemented all the regulations and the development plan of the port for the company to disseminate to the community in June 2004. -- Antara/JP