Lonsum asked to talk with locals

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: A senior military official has urged the residents of Tanjung Isuy in Kutai regency, the authorities, and the plantation firm PT London Sumatra (Lonsum) to meet together soon to solve a prolonged dispute of hundreds of hectares of land in the area.

Commander of the 091/Aji Suryanata Kusuma resort military command, Col. Rudy Landung, said here on Monday that such a tripartite meeting would be substantial to stop the continuous clashes between local people and the company.

"At the moment, all parties purported as if they're the most truthful. Thus, the problem has become difficult to solve without efforts to meet and discuss the dispute," Landung said.

The locals' demand of asking the company to pay hundreds of billions of rupiah for their land was improper, he said.

On the other hand, PT Lonsum has no proper documents to use the land but already occupies and cuts trees in the area based only on a recommendation letter issued in 1996 by then governor M. Ardans, Landung was quoted by Antara as saying.

Late last year, locals burned a warehouse at the company's Nayan base camp and hundreds of others took over a number of heavy tractors at the site, leaving PT Lonsum unable to operate for months.

Earlier this month, the company -- under the help of the security authorities -- was able to take back their "abducted" assets from the locals.

During the raid, troops also seized dozens of handmade guns and weapons from the residents, who showed no resistance.

Locals retaliated a few days ago by burning at least two of Lonsum's heavy tractors in an expression of anger directed at the company.

No fatalities occurred as the operators of the giant vehicles managed to escape from the mob.

"The case has nothing to do with politics. The burning of the two heavy vehicles was just an effect of the locals' demand for land compensation," Landung said.