Serang villagers protest against Chinese cemetery plan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 01/27/2011 11:32 AM | Archipelago

Hundreds of residents of Balekambang village, Banten, have staged a demonstration to protest against a plan to build a Chinese cemetery in the area.  

The coordinator of the demonstration, Sulton Aziz from the Residents’ Anti-Chinese Cemetery Solidarity Group, said the plan had gone against existing procedures and regulations, Antara reported Thursday.

The developer had not secured any building permit or a permit from local residents to build the cemetery, he added.

During the protest, which lasted two hours on Wednesday, residents carried banners calling for all residents the arear to oppose the plan.

A Buddhist foundation, Yayasan Timur Raya, plans to build the cemetery on a 500 hectare plot of land near the village. So far it has acquired only 20 hectares for the cemetery.  

Aziz said some villagers had agreed to sell their land because they were told it would be used for a cattle farm.  

E. Java villagers block access to oil well, demand repairs

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/17/2011 10:37 AM | Archipelago

East Java villagers have blocked the access to the Sukowati oil well site in Bojonegoro where oil pipes would be installed by state oil company Pertamina and Petrochina.

“We will continue to block access to the well until they repair the 1.8-kilometer road to our village,” resident coordinator Sutikno of Sambiroto Village, Kapas District, said Monday.

The Joint Operating Body of Pertamina-Petrochina, East Java (PPEJ) plans to install distribution pipes from the field at the Sukowati oil well in Campurejo village, Kota District, to the Mudi filed in Rayahu village, Soko District, passing through Sambiroto Village.

The project is scheduled to begin on Jan. 27. The pipes that would be installed in Sambiroto Village are around 250 meters long.