Thousands protest pulp plant 'operations' in Porsea

Thousands protest pulp plant 'operations' in Porsea

Arpiadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

Thousands of residents including activists from various non-
governmental organizations, clergymen and ulemas again staged a
protest on Monday against the reopening of a suspended pulp plant
in Toba Samosir regency, North Sumatra.

A minor clash erupted during the rally when the protesters and
security officers pushed each other as the police tried to bar
the crowd from blocking the road leading to PT Toba Pulp Lestari.

At least one activist identified as Ewa was injured and two
women fainted as police officers beat the protesters with billy
clubs to quell the protest.

The protesters, mostly women, blocked the road in Sirait Uruk
village in the subdistrict of Porsea, where trucks carrying logs
pass to supply PT Toba Pulp Lestari.

"We will stay here all night to prevent the entry of Toba
Pulp's trucks and until the plant stops its operation," Rev. N.
Silaen said during the protest.

The central government issued the green light recently for the
company to resume producing pulp but did not say when it could do
so, pending the required clarification of its community
development program.

However, residents said the pulp plant had resumed operations
covertly two weeks ago.

"It is clearly a violation because the government has yet to
determine when the company could resume operations," Tatang Yuda,
a protest leader, told The Jakarta Post.

The demonstration, the biggest after a series of earlier
protests staged recently, involved villagers from the
subdistricts of Lumbanjulu, Porsea, Huluan and Laguboti,
including dozens of Catholic nuns, priests, church ministers and
Muslim figures.

Activists from at least 42 non-governmental organizations
affiliated with the Crisis Center at the North Sumatra office of
the leading Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) were among
the protesters.

Minister of Trade and Industry Rini Soewandi, who visited
Medan, North Sumatra recently, said the government would hold a
meeting with the Toba Pulp management in the near future to hear
its explanations of the community development scheme required by
the government to appease the locals.

"In principle, the government can approve the company's
activity resumption only after receiving the clarification of its
community development plans so as not to harm the interests of
local people," she said.

Locals have rejected the reopening of PT Toba Pulp Lestari,
citing it could damage the environment in Porsea.

Dedi Sutanto, a Toba Pulp Lestari commissioner, denied the
protesters' claim that his plant was operating again and said
what was happening now was part of the company's maintenance of
idle machines.

"We are prepared to operate as soon as the government allows
us to do so," he told the Post.

But Tatang said Toba Pulp's activities would be noticed as
trucks trying to supply logs and smoke billowing from the plant
were sure signs of an active operation.

As of late afternoon on Monday, the demonstrators managed to
control the road leading to the company as police were powerless
to stop them.