Three more arrested for blockade of pulp factory

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

The police in Tarutung, North Tapanuli, North Sumatra, arrested on Tuesday three people for preventing log trucks from supplying raw materials to a pulp mill belonging to PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL), in Porsea, some 170 kilometers south of Medan.

The spokesman for the North Sumatra Police, Sr. Comr. Amrin Karim, confirmed here on Tuesday that the three, including a student from Nomensen University in the city, were arrested for blocking the road with used cars on a highway in Sirait Uruk leading to the factory site.

"The arrest was conducted in line with the law. The three identified as Tulus Sirait, Rahman Butar-butar and Binsar Silitonga, were put in the police detention facility in Tarutung, for further investigation," he said.

The three protesters were part of more than 200 people who came to the factory site to protest the reopening of the pulp mill.

The police previously arrested 16 protesters, including two church ministers, for ransacking the office of the Porsea district chief in their protest of the pulp mill's reopening.

The government allowed TPL to resume operations earlier this year after it shut down in October 2000 for environment violations. The reopening was on the condition that TPL would comply with all environmental laws and carry out a social community development program to empower local residents.

The pulp mill, widely believed to be a major polluter of the Asahan River and world-famous Lake Toba, was also accused of damaging road networks in the Toba-Samosir regency. The damage done by the plant sparked strong opposition following the collapse of former president Suharto's repressive regime in 1998.

TPL's rayon mill has already been relocated to China.

The pulp mill, which was previously owned entirely by the Radja Garuda Mas (RGM) Group, has resumed operations with an injection of fresh money from two consortia, one from Hong Kong and another from Boston in the U.S. The group is also running another pulp mill PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) in Pelalawan, Riau.

Herwin Nasution, executive director of the Medan Environment Forum (Walhi), lambasted police for the recent arrests, saying the three were not involved in the blockade.

He also said the police should not intimidate local residents opposed to the pulp mill's reopening.

"The people staged the demonstration to protest the government's policy as well as the intimidation by the local police against citizens opposing the pulp mill's reopening," he said.

He said he had received many reports that the local police in Porsea have frequently shot their guns at night as a way to intimidate the people.

He called on security authorities to facilitate a dialog between the management and locals and not to use a repressive security approach as it would not solve the problem.

TPL Deputy Manager Wi Lim said despite the continued protest, the management would continue trial operations until the factory was able to operate at full capacity.

"We will continue the operation because such a protest is normal in democracy but protesters should comply with the law in airing their aspirations," he said, explaining that during the trial period, the mill would continue to operate with a capacity of between 200 tons and 300 tons per day.

The company has supplied its raw materials from forests in several locations in the province and purchased other logs from local loggers.

House Deputy Speaker Soetarjo Soerjogoeritno, in his visit to the pulp plant last week, said he was happy about the company's reopening because it would contribute money to the local administration, and indirectly support dozens of small companies in the area that employed some 15,000 workers.

He also called on the local administration to actively disseminate information on why the government had allowed the pulp mill to resume operations.