North Sumatra council rejects possible reopening of sawmill

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.