North Sumatra council rejects possible reopening of sawmill

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

The North Sumatra provincial council (DPRD) has openly opposed the central government's plan to allow PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) to resume its operations in Porsea, and urged police to release 16 residents detained for protesting the reopening.

DPRD Commission I secretary Viktor Simarmata said on Wednesday that the legislature's rejection was a manifestation of the people's demands that TPL be closed.

"The sixteen detained residents should be released immediately in view of the upcoming Christmas celebrations," Viktor said during a hearing with officials from the regional administration, the police, PT TPL management, and non-governmental organizations.

Fellow legislator M.P.L. Tobing added that the activities of PT TPL had affected the local people's health and damaged the environment.

Two of the 16 detained residents are church ministers. They were arrested for holding a protest against the planned reopening of TPL, the new name for PT Inti Indorayon Utama (IIU), in November, and were allegedly involved in ransacking the office of the head of the Sirait Uruk district.

Local residents protested against TPL's planned reopening because the sawmill had caused environmental damage and affected the people's health.

Data collected by the Bona Pasogit non-governmental organization showed that respiratory problems went up by seven percent after the initial operations of TPL in 1989, and cases of skin irritations doubled.

Further, over 110,000 hectares of forest concessions in protected areas had been felled, Tobing said.

Head of the province's environment impact agency (Bapedalda) Suangkupon Siregar, who represented the governor at the hearing, denied suggestions that TPL had a bad impact on the environment.

Siregar said that a study by 100 experts in Prapat district concluded that TPL could resume activities under a new concept.

The hearing proceeded with increasing tension as police officials attending the service claimed that there were still a number of people evading them, and intelligence police chief Sr. Comr. T.P.H. Manurung emphasized that police would continue to hunt those involved in the protest.

"Those who are still on the run were possibly involved in earlier cases. We are ready to disclose 32 cases at this time," said Manurung.

He added that it would not release the 16 suspects because their case would soon be brought to court.

He revealed that the dossiers of the 16 residents had been submitted by the Tarutung police to the Balige district attorney's office on Dec. 14.

The state prosecutor's office would soon bring the case to the district court for trial.

During the hearing, the management of PT TPL did not provide the forum with a thorough explanation on the grounds that the sawmill had no authority to submit an explanation, which was the government's responsibility, they said.

Sarma Hutajulu, a lawyer for the people of Porsea, said the silence of PT TPL indicated that the government and the police had been controlled by the company to campaign for their recommencing operations.