Three more arrested for blockade of pulp factory

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.