siti baheram and her uncle rachmat, members of a residents'
committee opposed to the dam, said at a press conference at the
japan national press club that the kotapanjang dam, scheduled
tobegin construction in 1992, would be a disaster for area
residents.
baheram said project planners in the indonesian government had
not complied fully with three requirements set by the japanese
government for official development assistance for the dam.
the requirements were that families affected by the project
should individually accept relocation, that affected communities
should be fully involved in determining land prices, and that all
wildlife, including rare sumatra elephants, should be well
treated and not have their populations reduced.
baheram said the indonesian government did not consult local
people over the project until last year when the japanese
government introduced the three requirements, but now is
campaigning to get people to sign statements that they agree with
the project.
"not all families signed, but the indonesian government claimed
they did," baheram said.
"some people were intimidated by being told that if they did not
sign, they would get no compensation and no housing in the new
settlement."
baheram said the indonesian government chose 10 people from each
of 8 villages in the dam area and persuaded them to sign
documents accepting compensation on behalf of all villagers.
she said that if the dam proceeds, thousands of villagers will
be forcibly relocated to a new village built on a former
rubber plantation which was taken from its owners without
compensation.the japan international cooperation agency has
estimated that 13,907 people will have to be relocated, and the
foreign ministry estimated recently that the figure is close to
22,000.
the dam will submerge 124 square kilometers of land upstream
from the confluence of the kampar and mahat rivers in the state
of riau in eastern sumatra.
baheram and rachmat will meet representatives the overseas
economic cooperation fund on tuesday and on thursday will meet
officials of the foreign ministry and the economic planning
agency.
"it is also not just the fault of the indonesian government,"
baheram said, "it is the fault of...the japanese government, if
they intend to fund the project without considering the people's
rights."
the japanese government is entirely dependent on indonesian
government assurances that local residents approve the project,
said kazuo sumi, professor of international law at yokohama city
university and spokesman for a group of japanese who support the
indonesian opponents of the project.
he said japanese funding agencies have not tried to assess the
project's environmental impact and have no way of
independently assessing the wishes of local people.
he said the recently rediscovered ruins of an ancient
buddhist temple, muara takus, will be partly submerged by the dam
although the indonesian government proposes building a retaining
wall to protect the central part of the temple complex.
a spokesman for the indonesian embassy in tokyo refused to
comment on the matter on monday.
he said the embassy is waiting for more information from jakarta
before making any comment.