Sugar Group responses

Referring to your article "Lampung Governor Urged to Resolve Land Dispute" dated Oct. 3, 2002, we would like to express both our deep disappointment at the false accusations leveled at our company and our amazement at the unprofessional behavior of your reporter. The report contains many errors of fact, and draws a series of distorted, misleading and plainly false conclusions about the Sugar Group Companies.

We are completely baffled as to how The Jakarta Post could publish such an error-ridden article which is clearly libelous about our Companies, while never once contacting us for comment.

To illustrate just some of the gross inaccuracies in your article: * You described the Pamswakarsa as being formed by vigilantes hired by the Companies to torture villagers. This is absolutely false, not to mention libelous. On the contrary, the Pamswakarsa formation was requested by our unionized workers to protect them and their families against criminals entering the Group's plantation and factory properties. Before the Pamswakarsa was formed, there were many incidents in which our workers were robbed of their money during payday in the Group's plantation area. In other cases, our plantation workers were beaten and attacked with machetes by intruders when working in the field. Also contrary to what you reported, members of the Pamswakarsa were recruited from the Group's own employees. * The reported claim by Bakung Udik villagers that PT ILP has occupied some 7,000 hectares of their land without compensation is also false. The land where PT ILP and PT SIL plant their sugar cane was previously forested land owned by the Ministry of Forestry. For securing the rights to convert the forest area into plantation area, PT ILP has fully paid and compensated the Ministry of Forestry, according to the law. In addition to payments to the Ministry of Forestry, the company has also compensated all villagers with legitimate claims. With regards to the Rp 3 billion PT SIL promised to pay, the fund remains in escrow because there were three individuals trying to falsely and wrongfully represent and act on behalf of Tegamoan people by forging their documents. They are currently missing and on the police force's wanted list.

We trust you will share with your readers the real story accurately according to facts. We also beseech you to respect the central rule of journalism: always check both sides of a story.

IRWAN ANG Sugar Group Companies