InfoSAWIT, BELITUNG — The meeting between the people of Membalong and PT Foresta Lestari in the Village Office of Kembiri and Attorney of Belitung did not come to a conclusion. This made a deadlock. In the response of their unsatisfcation, the people got angry and decided to blockade the access to the company.
Vice Field Coordinator, Ricky Kuswanda thought the meeting was useless. This was the proof that the company has no will to end the conflict and made the people got worse. He also told that people of Membalong were put aside in their own land while the power of a company got wider in the region.
PT Foresta Lestari Dwikarya, was promising to provide employment, made the village go better, and welfare the people around. But the facts showed the contrary. 20 percent of the main plantations (plasma program) was not realized, there was no significant helps in education, economy, and social. There is no decent work for the people. They only got negative impacts, such as, flying ash around the access to the company, the forests were cut off, and rivers were polluted.
When the people of Membalong started to get their rights and protest the violation that PT Foresta did, the company responded by arresting 11 activists of Membalong.
As quoted from negerilaskarpelangi.com, as their protest, the people decided to blockade the access to the company as a warn he told that three corridors have been closed, they are in koridor pabrik, koridor bukit, and koridor Simpang Rusa. Each corridor is now used to get some activities, such as, praying, people’s art performance, and public kitchen in their protest.
About to open the access in the three corridors, he told that it would depend on what the company would do. He also took the regional and central governments not to take partisanship with the company but use their authority and power to win the people’s protest.
He also mentioned that it needs to get fair investigation about the violation that PT Foresta has done because it is assumed that the investment of the company delivered losses for the country and the people.
“If an investment eventually sacrificed the people’s life and the country, what is the use of PT Foresta? If the company can intimidate and take the resources in Belitong, it is better to revoke the permit of the company,” he said. (T2)
