Sulawesi tribe opposes Lake Lindu dam project

JAKARTA (JP): The indigenous people of Central Sulawesi are opposing the government's plan to turn their Lake Lindu, the hub of their cultural activities and livelihood, into a multi-purpose reservoir.

"We are not here to fight against the government. We are only afraid of losing our homes," said Gesadombu, 63, the Tribal Chief of the Lindu plains, during a press conference here yesterday.

The government plans to turn the lake into a hydropower- generating plant and an irrigation reservoir.

Gesadombu said the lake was the source of the Lindu tribe's livelihood and a change in its function would practically destroy their future.

Gesadombu, who was accompanied by 23 other fellow Lindu indigenous people, non-governmental activists, students and nature-lovers from Central Sulawesi, spoke at the headquarters of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi).

During their visit to Jakarta, the group plans to meet officials of the State Power company, the National Commission on Human Rights, plus the Ministers of Forestry, Environment, Mines and Energy to raise opposition to the project.

Gesadombu said it was hard to describe the strong traditional and practical ties the Lindu people had with the land they live on.

These traditional values, he said, would undoubtedly perish with the presence of the government's plan to turn the lake into a reservoir.

Chalid Mohammad from Walhi said the plan to build the reservoir and 75-megawatt power generator were made public in 1988 and immediately triggered unrest. The public charged that the government was overly discreet about it.

He explained that, at that time, feasibility studies were being conducted by PT Yodya Karya and a French consultant company, Coyne et Beller. They later revealed that the lake's water level would have to be raised some two to seven meters, according to Chalid.

Four villages, which are inhabited by more than 3,000 people, would be inundated, he said, obviously meaning that the villagers would have to be resettled.

"Their traditional and ecologically-friendly methods of designating lake and forest zones would be removed as well," Chalid said.

Part of the Lore Lindu National Park, a nature conservation boasting some 125 endemic species of plants and animals, would also have to be cleared to give way to the dam, he said.

Amran Tambaru, a student from Palu, Central Sulawesi's capital, said it was the government who had to learn from the Lindu people on how to manage water and land -- not the other way around.

"The people of Lindu all have the right to express their culture and the government has an obligation to listen to them," he said.

In a seminar held last May -- which was attended by the provincial government officials, including Governor Azis Lamadjido, NGO activists and indigenous Lindu people -- it was recommended that the government redesign the dam.

According to the new plan, the Lindu people did not need resettling because the lake's surface did not have to be elevated.

These alterations, the government said, were possible because the area had changed over the years and the new design would be more profitable.

"We do not believe the government made any changes because they could have announced it in the first place," said Chalid.

He charged that the government was "only trying to sell its proposal" and once the project began, they would not keep their promise.

Dedeng Alwi from Walhi's Central Sulawesi chapter accused the government of conducting "divisive strategies" by "luring" government officials of Lindu origin into convincing fellow indigenous people into agreeing to the plan.(pwn)