In the wake of the recent action by villagers from Kampung Domande, Malind District, Merauke Regency, to block PT Rajawali’s access, now the villagers have ordered company employees who were carrying out work on the land to leave. This means that their logging operations are still not progressing smoothly.

When tabloidjubi.com met Djago Bukit, the Chair of Yayasan Santo Antonius in Merauke, at his workplace on Friday (7/6), he said that several problems had made the people uneasy with the company, including the fact that the sugar-cane nursery had brought in workers from outside the area. These workers may have specialist knowledge, but it means that the local people who hold customary rights over the land have not been involved.

Apart from that, Djago continued, was the issue of an agreement to compensate the people for the trees that were felled. “Actually the company did meet with villagers from Kampung Domande in Yasanto’s office some time ago. The thing is, there was no agreement on the price – the company made an offer, but this didn’t match the villagers’ demand. In the end, the problem was left hanging, and that’s how it continues,” he said.

He also acknowledged that since the blockade was put in place, work hasn’t been able to proceed properly. Moreover, the villagers had ordered the workers to leave the area for the time being, until compensation could be agreed for trees that had already been felled.

Separately, the head of the Forestry and Plantation Agency for Merauke Regency, Efendi Kanan, said that, on Saturday (8/6) he would go to Kampung Domande together with other government agencies and the company and speak with the local people once more. “Yes, we will open communication with the people once again so that a way to resolve the problem can be found”, he said.

Source: Ans.k for tabloidjubi.com http://tabloidjubi.com/2013/06/07/pt-rajawali-disuruh-keluar-dari-lokasi-pekerjaan/