Galang People Protest United Nations

VIVAnews - 14 representatives of the people of Galang Island, Batam, demonstrated before the Representative Office of the United Nations in Jakarta, on Tuesday, Feb. 3. The protesters called themselves the Alliance of Rempang Indigenous People. During the protest, they brought with them  traditional street monkey-performances (topeng monyet).

According to the founder of the alliance, Iskandar Sitorus, the protesters demanded the United Nations to compensate for the establishment of a refugee camp for Vietnamese boat people in Galang Island between 1979 and 1996. "The people were involved in the refuge," he told VIVAnews on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

The Galang people, he said, contributed by providing clean water, gas and security. However, he said, after the refugees left the island, the people were no longer provided with the same facilities.

"Used stuff left in the camp were no longer of any use," said Sitorus. The Galang people, he said, urged the United Nations to reply to the queries and to probe into the compensation.

The Galang people had once demanded the legalization of their right to live in Galang Island.

When asked why the protesters brought the street monkey-performances with them, he answered, "Even a monkey would know."

They lived with, and assisted, the Vietnamese refugees until 1996. Then they were dispelled without warning by the Batam administration in 2007 without any compensation. In fact, the United Nations awarded Indonesia for its success of dealing with the Vietnamese refugees through the Galang people. 

Galang Island is a refugee camp for Vietnamese boat people in the 1980s prior to being granted sanctuary in a third-party country. Galang Island can be reached through Batam Island through Batam, Rempang, Galang or Barelang bridges.

The refugee camp was situated in Sijantung Village, on a hill with an area of almost 80 hectares.

Translated by: Bonardo Maulana Wahono