Govt settles dispute with Dayak tribes

JAKARTA (JP): The government announced yesterday that it has come to an amicable agreement with the Bentian Dayak tribes in East Kalimantan in the dispute over a piece of land in Jelmu Sibak which it is acquiring for a forestry estate.

Minister of Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo said that the government could not go ahead with its plan to move some 300 families of settlers into the area to work in the forestry estate.

Siswono told reporters at a press conference that the plots belonging to local people will be preserved in the 5,000 hectare concession area, while the resettlement area, which covers an 80,000 hectares, would be located somewhere outside the location.

A solution to the dispute came to light after a special team established by the ministry was sent to Jelmu Sibak to get a closer look at the dispute, he added. "We apologize to the people if the projects have caused anxiety," he said.

Siswono said that the government would never disrupt the lives of the Dayak tribes. "The government respects the customary rights of the Bentian tribes," he said.

Siswono explained that the plots in the concession area -- which the local people depend for their livelihood -- would remain intact and that the plots would serve as enclaves in which the people are free to enter.

The East Kalimantan provincial government will soon start measuring the customary land claimed by the tribes, he said.

The resettlement area, to accommodate people coming from areas outside the province, will now be moved to a new location and will not occupy the plot which the tribes claim to be their customary land, he said.

The government's resettlement and forestry estate plans have fueled controversy.

The Dayak tribes protested against the forest concession holder PT Hutan Mahligai which they accuse of destroying the pristine jungle they rely on to survive, and of taking up the sacred land which are the graveyards of their ancestors.

The tribes turned to the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi), two powerful organizations, to lobby the government agencies.

They claimed that the Hutan Mahligai, a subsidiary of Kalimanis Group, has been demolishing their 87-acre home, causing misery for the villagers since last May. They said they have been forced to accept a very small amount of money as compensation for the trees and land.

Hutan Mahligai operates the area in a joint venture with the state-owned PT Inhutani I. It supplies logs to PT Kalhold Utama, a plywood manufacturer and another subsidiary of Kalimanis Group.

The tribes have also complained of intimidation by a number of security officers, coercing the villagers into accepting the compensation offer.

In line with the government's regulation, any timber firm which receives a forestry concession does not have to pay compensation to inhabitants of the land.

Siswono blamed the timber company for its poor approach to the local people, but he also accused unnamed non-governmental organizations for worsening the already-tense situation.

The new settlers will be settled in the area as soon as the East Kalimantan provincial government gives the go ahead. (par)