Indorayon calls on govt to provide protection

Indorayon calls on govt to provide protection

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly-listed pulp and rayon producer PT Inti
Indorayon Utama has called on the government to protect its
operations, its workers and property while an independent
auditing team begins work to decide its fate on Monday.

The company also urged the public, especially those protesting
against its operations, to give the team a chance to complete its
work and let the government decide on the company's fate.

"If the results of the audit prove that Indorayon's
environmental and social performance is bad, Indorayon's
management and employees will accept the reality and be willing
to close the factory in Porsea, North Sumatra.

"However, if the results are positive, the public should
magnanimously accept the verdict and allow the company to
continue its operations," the company said in a statement over
the weekend.

The government decided last month to assign an independent
audit team to check Indorayon's mill near Lake Toba in North
Sumatra following mass protests by local people who alleged the
plant had damaged the environment. They demanded that the mill be
closed down without waiting for the results of an independent
audit.

The audit team, which is expected to complete its work within
three months, will provide a recommendation to the government,
but Indorayon will be given a chance to challenge the audit
result.

The mill was forced to stop production in early July after
local protesters blocked the main access roads to the plant.

However, the company began operating again late last month
because the mill has to have been operational for five weeks
before a government-appointed independent audit team can begin
work.

The resumption of operations created a misunderstanding among
the protesters, leading to last week's riot involving thousands
of people at the mill in Porsea. The protesters damaged four
cars, set 15 company trucks ablaze and vandalized and burned 23
houses and businesses. Security personnel shot at least four
protesters with rubber bullets.

On Thursday, rioting spread to the nearby town of Tarutung
when protesters gathered there to demand the release of 79 people
detained by police during the unrest at Porsea.

The company said it was deeply concerned over recent acts of
assault, arson and looting committed against its employees and
property, and urged the government to take firm action against
those responsible.

Company director Sudibyo Markus said in the statement: "The
rioting is no longer a demonstration but an organized crime.

"We urge the authorities to investigate such criminal acts and
at the same time identify the rioters, provocateurs, financiers
and actors behind the trouble which has not only inflicted losses
on Indorayon but has also caused innocent people to suffer."

Indorayon is 62 percent owned by the Singapore-registered Asia
Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd., which is listed on
the New York Stock Exchange.

The other 38 percent of Indorayon is owned by the investing
public, cooperatives and a number of shareholders from Finland.

Before suspension of its operations, Indorayon exported 70
percent of its annual production of 240,000 metric tons of
hardwood pulp and 60,000 tons of rayon fiber. (rid)