Landslide cuts off vital Riau road

Landslide cuts off vital Riau road

PEKANBARU, Riau: A landslide has cut off a major road connecting
the Riau provincial capital of Pekanbaru with the town of Teluk
Kuantan on Wednesday, disrupting vital traffic between Pekanbaru
and neighboring provinces, locals said.

"The landslide followed heavy rainfall, which caused a section
of the hillside and the road to collapse," said M. Sukar, a
resident of Teluk Kuantan.

Because of the landslide, he said, vehicles on both sides of
the road were unable to continue their journey.

A Pekanbaru resident, Urdianto Paboun, estimated that a 15-
meter-long section of the road had collapsed. He said he had to
make a U-turn and head back to Pekanbaru.

"The line of cars trapped by the collapsing road was quite
long, because it was difficult to turn around and find an
alternative route," Urdianto said.

Teluk Kuantan is located around 100 kilometers south of
Pekanbaru. The affected road connects the city with the southern
provinces of West Sumatra and Jambi, and serves as a shortcut to
the island of Java. -- Antara

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Across-Kendari-protest-Tomy
Kendari crowd rallies for Tomy
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Kendari crowd rallies for Tomy

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: A crowd of about 100 people rallied
outside the Southeast Sulawesi Council on Wednesday, demanding it
support local investment plans from Tomy Winata, in an apparent
response to anti-Tomy protests by local reporters.

The crowd from the Indonesian Students and Youth Union and the
Indonesian Students Axis rallied in support of Tomy's investment
plans. Tomy is the owner of the Artha Graha Group.

Citing Tomy's promise to invest Rp 1 trillion (US$112 million)
here, they urged councillors to welcome him.

Earlier this month, local reporters held a series of rallies
to protest Tomy's investment plans following the thuggery against
Tempo offices in Jakarta.

In the incident, a crowd of Tomy supporters assaulted
executives of Tempo magazine to protest an article they deemed
defamatory.

Kendari reporters said they rejected Tomy's coming for fear
that his business would open the province to thuggery. -- Antara

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Across-Bangka-mining-Timah
Illegal miners destroy reclamation area
JP/5/Across

Illegal miners destroy reclamation area

PANGKAL PINANG, Bangka Belitung: State-owned nickel mining
company PT Timah said on Wednesday that about 65 percent of its
reclamation area in Bangka Belitung province had been destroyed
by illegal miners, forcing a halt to the environmental program.

As of 2000, the company had rehabilitated 4,662 hectares of
closed mining sites under its reclamation program in the
province's two islands of Bangka and Belitung, said Timah
spokesman Abrun Abubakar in the Bangka regency capital of Pangkal
Pinang on Wednesday. He said total reclamation costs up to 2002
amounted to Rp 13.8 billion (US$155,000).

He added that because thousands of illegal miners had
descended upon Timah's reclamation area in hopes of extracting
leftover nickel deposits, Timah had to stop the program in 2001.

"If people there don't realize (the problem), the damages (to
the reclamation area) will only increase. After all, the
reclamation is meant for the future generation of Bangka-
Belitung," Abrun said.

Illegal mining activities are a persistent problem in the
mining industry amid weak law enforcement following the 1998
political reforms.

Most miners use simple tools, but many investors from Jakarta
equip them with excavators and chemicals to tap deposits. They
operate without licenses, often threatening existing mining
operations, and have little regard for environmental protection.
-- Antara