Difficulties In Supervising Illegal Gold Miners, Maluku Regional Police Question The Bald Mountain Security Budget That Was Stopped By The Regional Government

The control of PETI activities on Mount Botak, Buru, by the Buru Island Police, last Saturday. (ANTARA/Personal documents

MALUKU - The Maluku Regional Police (Polda) revealed that the rat trail was an obstacle for 24-hour surveillance of Unlicensed Gold Miners (PETI) in the Mount Botak area, Buru Regency.

"Why are PETI still active in the gold mining area up there, it's because the location of gold mining in Bald Mountain is wide," said Head of Public Relations of the Maluku Police, Kombes Pol M. Roem Ohoirat, in Ambon, Maluku, quoted from Antara, Tuesday. August 9th.

Even so, said Ohoirat, various efforts to minimize the entry of PETI continue to be carried out by the Buru Island Resort Police.

He revealed that the control operations were intensively carried out by the Police with the assistance of the TNI. Even a number of PETIs and illegal gold processing entrepreneurs were arrested and dealt with firmly from 2021 to 2022.

"Since it was closed in 2015, the location of the gold mine has been closely guarded by the joint military and police forces," he said.

In addition, a number of security posts were built at each lane or entrance to the mining site. Security by joint forces is carried out for 24 hours.

"But in 2019, the operational budget for securing the gold mining area in Mount Botak began to be stopped by the regional government, but we continue to work," he said.

He asked the parties, especially students, to also be able to question local and central government policies related to the gold mining issue.

"Currently, the Mount Bald gold mine has been handled by the central government, so colleagues who still think that the Police have not taken steps can be asked directly to the center either through the DPR or DPD RI, or other representatives, because until whenever there is no If there is a clear policy from the government, problems will definitely arise in Mount Botak," he said.