Riot Sets Fire on Facilities in Morowali

VIVAnews – Police said the situation in Morowali, Central Sulawesi, is back to normal following a protest which led to arson in PT Vale Indonesia Tbk – previously known as PT International Nickel Indonesia Tbk.

“The riot was discharged last night,” Morowali Police Chief, Adj. Chief. Comm. Suhirman, told VIVAnews today, Feb 7.

The protest was held on Monday, Feb 6th. 

The crowd of approximately 500 people escalated the tension by burning down several facilities of the mining company in Lele Village in Bahodapi District, Morowali. 

Suhirman said the protest was carried out in efforts to urge Vale Indonesia to leave Morowali. The protest was concentrated on KM 9 of Onepute Jaya Village, Morowali, Central Sulawesi.  

“The crowd gathered around 10 AM and the riot started around 2.30 PM,” he said. 

An employees’ dorm was set on fire during the incident. The building was made of timber and there were no attempts of extinguishing the fire. Other than that, the riot also burned 4 vehicles, a refrigerator and 2 television units. 

President Director and CEO of Vale Indonesia, Nico Kanter, claimed that the company respects the rights of the people in expressing their minds. 

“We are very concerned about the arson of our camp in KM 9 in Bahodopi, Morowali, Central Sulawesi on Monday afternoon,” he said in a statement.

Therefore, Vale Indonesia’s management will immediately filed a report on the incident to the local authorities for further investigation. 

“There were no casualties from this incident,” he said.