Indorayon earns Silaen doctorate

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The two-decade dispute between Bataknese people and pulp and rayon producer PT Inti Indorayon Utama in Porsea, Toba Samosir regency, North Sumatra, has profoundly touched Victor Silaen.

Even worse, the standoff has been marred with the use of violence from both sides.

Morally he felt obliged as a member of the Batak Toba sub- ethnic group to do something to soothe the saturating conflicts which started with the company's establishment in 1983.

In his capacity as an academic, the father of Abel Gideon and Zefanya Aprilia decided to make his contribution to resolving the conflict and to helping the public have more comprehensive information about the conflict.

"Perhaps because emotionally I am also attached to them, although I never lived together with them -- because I was not born and raised there. It means, that I remain a Bataknese, a part of them who were struggling to undergo the bitter life day by day in Porsea at that time," the 40-year-old Silaen wrote in the introduction of his dissertation on the Indorayon case.

Silaen obtained his doctorate from the University of Indonesia last month with his dissertation: A New Social Movement in Toba Samosir: A case study on the people's opposition to (pulp and rayon firm) Indorayon. The study covers the conflicts from 1983 to 2000.

Indorayon is likely one of the most controversial industrial plants in the country. Its opponents have a long list of the company's alleged sins: destroying the local environment, damaging forests around the Lake Toba, using violence to silence those who oppose the company. With strong backing from then president Soeharto and the military, the company went ahead with its operations and used oppressive means against those who demanded the unconditional closure of the plant.

The Batak Protestant Church, the largest Protestant church in Southeast Asia, was also strongly affected by the conflict because majority of people in the regency are church members. The military intervened in church affairs, and even installed its own favorite priest to lead the church.

In the 375-page, six-chapter dissertation, Silaen describes the details of the conflict and explains why the Bataknese people had such a strong stamina in their fight against the giant. He cites the cultural tradition Dalihan Na Tolu (the confluence of three) as one of the strongest binding factors for the people.

"One factor that distinguishes this case from the others is the Batak cultural tradition, which binds the people. Anyone would feel uneasy if he or she did not participate in the movement. This became a strong energy for the movement," Silaen told The Jakarta Post last week.

He categorized their fighting as a new social movement because of its multi-dimensional objective. And although the people failed to close down the factory, they succeeded to force it to fulfill most of its demands.

"They did not succeed to force the closure of Indorayon or the relocation from Porsea. But the company now only produces pulp and changed its name. Its paradigm is also changed to be more environmentally friendly. They also use more sophisticated technology to minimize the environmental impact," Silaen said.

In 1999, then president Habibie, who was among the strongest supporters of the company, froze the activities of the company following rampant violence in Porsea. The fall of Soeharto in 1998 strengthened people's determination to close the factory. Its operations totally stopped for four years until February 2002, when it reopened with the approval of president Megawati Soekarnoputri.

As vice president, Megawati in 2000 actually allowed its operation resumption but the company was only allowed to produce pulp and no longer rayon. Her instruction did not work due to public opposition.

The company fully resumed its operation in February 2003 despite fierce public opposition, and again the government used violence to disperse the protesters. Indorayon's name was changed to PT Toba Pulp Lestari.

"Honestly speaking, as an academic, Indorayon has changed much now," said Silaen.

Silaen graduated from the School of Criminology at the University of Indonesia in 1989 and from the university's School of American Studies in 1993.

Before deciding to choose a career as a lecturer since 1995, Silaen previously worked at Tempo and Forum Keadilan weekly magazines.

The lecturer at the School of Social and Political Sciences of the Jakarta-based Indonesian Christian University was born in Jakarta on Oct. 1, 1964.

His father Mangantar Silaen is an entrepreneur while his mother Louise Siahaan is an activist and faithful member of the Batak Protestant Church on Jl. Jambu in Central Jakarta. Both of his parents are Bataknese.

But what does say about his contributions to the people through his scientific studies? "Have I helped them to get rid of their problems? I don't think so. Possibly it was them who 'helped' me to pass all the tests and examinations to get a doctorate in politics," said the husband of Synka Tarigan.

Does he plan to publish his dissertation? "Some people have promised to find a publisher for me," said Silaen, who is also active in his church.