Timber barons protest illegal fees

Timber barons protest illegal fees

JAYAPURA, Papua: Over 150 people claiming to be timber company
employers staged a protest on Thursday in Jayapura, demanding the
government put an end to rampant extortion against them.

In the protest, held in front of the Papua provincial council,
the protesters said they were routinely charged illegal fees when
they were transporting logs into town.

Protest coordinator James Simanjuntak said at each post they
had to pay Rp 200,000 (US$22.2) on average. "We pass at least
five posts during the trip from the forest to town. You can
imagine the losses," said James. -- JP