Nipah dam project continues amid protest
Nipah dam project continues amid protest
SURABAYA (JP): The local administration plans to resume the
controversial dam project in Nipah, Madura, off eastern Java,
after it was halted for six years following a fatal 1993
incident.
The Sampang regency's decision to continue the land
acquisition process for the dam project has drawn strong protest
from the Surabaya branch of Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) and the
relatives of the victims, an official at the regency confirmed on
Tuesday.
Husein, head of the regency's information office said the
first phase of the project would be to acquire 27 hectares of the
total 120 hectares of land needed for the dam project. So far 22
hectares have been acquired.
"The price of land before the 1993 shootings was between Rp
400 to Rp 500 per square meter. Now we are paying between Rp
2,000 to Rp 2,500 per square meter. We have spent a total of Rp
1.2 billion on the first phase of land acquisition," Husein said
of the project which quietly recommenced in the past few months.
"We took the pictures of the payment process just for defense
in case of people's protest."
Hundred of villagers staged a demonstration against the dam
project on Sept. 25, 1993. The demonstration triggered a fierce
clash between security forces and protesters. Three protesters
were shot dead in the skirmish.
Four local military and police chiefs were removed a month
after the incident.
The Surabaya Legal Aid Foundation protested the
administration's policy of continuing the project. Anshori, a
member of the foundation, said he was worried it could provoke
tension between villagers and the administration.
He said local residents did not want the project to go ahead
while legal proceedings of the fatal shootings remained
unresolved.
"The men behind the incident, Lt. Col. Bagus Hinayana the then
regent and Lt. Col. Sugeng Wiyono then chief of the military
district command, remain free," Anshori said, adding that the
land acquisition process had been carried out in an unfair
manner.
The regency's spokesman, Husein, denied Anshori's statement,
saying that villagers were happy when receiving compensation
money. (nur/sur)