goodmorningpapua.com – The Uria Tribe Indigenous People in the Unurumguay District highlighted the Grime Nawa community demonstration in the yard of the Jayapura Regent’s Office, Gunung Merah area, Sentani, Wednesday 7 September 2022.
This spotlight follows the aspirations of the Grime Nawa community who urged the Jayapura Regency Government to revoke the license of the oil palm plantation company PT Permata Nusa Mandiri (PNM). In fact, the company operates on the Uria Tribe’s ulayat land.
“I ask the Regent (Mathius Awoitauw) not to revoke PT Permata Nusa Mandiri’s permit because the area used is entirely on the customary land of the Uria Tribe,” asked the Head of the Uria Tribe, Petrus Sawa, Wednesday evening.
According to Petrus, the area of 10,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in Jayapura Regency, there are also plantations belonging to 14 tribes with an area of 4,000 hectares. “So in the 10 hectares of gardens there are community gardens, if they are closed where will they make a living,” he said.
Besides, continued Petrus, the relinquishment of customary rights to PT Permata Nusa Mandiri has been carried out since 2014 amounting to more than Rp 9 billion. “Many of our people work in companies and if they are closed, what do they want to be?” he asked.
A Head of the Tecuari Tribe, Yohanes Tecuari, said that he demanded the Jayapura government to be more observant in looking at this issue, because the oil palm companies already had a release letter and a Hak Guna Usaha (HGU).
“On this occasion I would like to emphasize to the government in this case the Jayapura Regent must give us freedom regarding our welfare,” said Yohanes Tecuari.
Yohanes also admitted that he was disappointed with the pressure to revoke the license of the oil palm plantation company PT Permata Nusa Mandiri, which he feared would add to the burden on other communities.
“People have also worked in companies and have received probationary salaries and the number of unemployed has also decreased, but with this demand we feel disappointed,” he said.
Separately, the Head of Representative for PT Permata Nusa Mandiri, Ridwan admitted that he was confused by the demands of the Grime Nawa Indigenous people. It is because, in his view, the demands of the community are already outside of the company’s work location.