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Villagers shot, one killed in Sosa land dispute

Down to Earth No. 47, November 2000

On 25 August 2000, police shot indiscriminately into a crowd of people gathered outside the factory gates of oil palm company PT Permata Hijau Sawit (PT PHS) in Mananti village, Sosa sub-district, South Tapanuli, killing eighteen year old Febriadi Nasution. Thirty-three people were later arrested, 15 of whom are currently standing trial, charged with various criminal damage offences.

Into the unknown regions: the hazards of STD

July / November 2000

This is the short version of a paper prepared by Nostromo Research for Down to Earth and Minewatch Asia-Pacific, July 2000, revised November 2000.

Police fire on Unocal protesters

Down to Earth No. 47, November 2000

Twenty three people were injured when police moved in to break up a protest blockade at Unocal's oil and gas terminal in East Kalimantan.

Seven protesters were injured by bullet wounds and a further sixteen were seriously injured when beaten and kicked by police, who broke up the protest on October 8th.

Newmont under siege

Down to Earth No. 47, November 2000


Newmont, the US-based mining company, has again come under fire at both its operations in Indonesia.

In North Sulawesi PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (80% owned by US mining giant Newmont) was forced to shut down operations at its Ratatotok gold mine three times in as many months. Former land-owners mounted a series of blockades an demanded compensation for land taken over by the company.

Regional autonomy, political will and the economy

Down to Earth No. 46, August 2000

In a recent article outlining the history of decentralisation in Indonesia, Trevor Buising states that the changes to be introduced by Law 22 "are not as great as imagined".

Regional autonomy from Suharto to Wahid

Down to Earth No. 46, August 2000

The idea of devolving authority to regional centres has been around for a long time. Indeed, incipient movements for autonomy and regional independence were strong in the first years of after independence, but clumsy CIA support triggered the centralist policies of the Sukarno regime. (Kahin, A.R. and Kahin, G.McT., 1995. Subversion as Foreign Policy: the Secret Eisenhower and Dulles Debacle in Indonesia. The New Press, New York).

Kutai under siege

Down to Earth No. 45, May 2000

The situation of Kutai National Park in East Kalimantan is critical. Its head, Toni Suhartono, reckons 10 hectares of forest are cleared daily by illegal loggers. Much of this is the result of highly organised operations. Some 50 trucks per day transport logs out of the Park to the boom town of Sangatta where middle-men export them from the local port.