Siswono confirms rioting by Dayaks in W. Kalimantan
Siswono confirms rioting by Dayaks in W. Kalimantan
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo
confirmed yesterday that West Kalimantan's Dayak tribe was
recently involved in a clash with a timber company over an
escalating land dispute.
Siswono was quick to lay the blame for the Aug. 11 rioting on
the timber company for failing to take into account the
sentiments of the Dayak people.
He said the Dayak tribe raided a number of the company's base
camps, burning cars and damaging construction equipment.
"We regret that the incident happened," he told The Jakarta
Post. "What disappoints us most is the deplorable attitude of the
company's management, ignoring the people's protest."
"Our society is known as being very tolerant. We can solve all
problems through dialog," he added.
Transmigration
The Dayak people from nine villages in Sandai, Ketapang,
raided the timber estate belonging to PT Lingga Tejawana after
several attempts to meet with the management failed. The timber
project is linked to the government's transmigration program.
The local Dayak people said the company has taken part of
their land and insisted that they vacate it.
There is no spatial zoning for the area and overlapping claims
have been common in the area. This has fueled resentment among
the Dayak people toward the timber companies.
The Institute of Dayakology for Research and Development, a
local non-governmental organization based in Pontianak, has been
monitoring the dispute closely and said that there are
indications that the company was planning to develop the land for
other purposes, including a golf course.
The institute, in a statement received here yesterday, also
said that the company has cleared thousands of hectares of rubber
and durian plants, which are the main source of income for many
local people.
Siswono suggested that one possible way out of the impasse is
for the company to involve the local people in the development of
the transmigration linked timber estate project. (rms)