...In March 2023, PT Vale Indonesia reported the residents of Sorowako to the East Luwu police for illegal land use in the Old Camp area. Even though, the site had previously been set as compensation to replace the community land taken by PT Vale Indonesia for nickel mining activities on Mount Songko in the 1970s. PT Vale Indonesia subpoenaed 39 residents as of March 2023, and 21 people were summoned by the East Luwu police for clarification.

During PT Vale Indonesia’s operation in Sorowako, residents have been evicted from their land multiple times. Nonetheless, the compensation process has never been completed. In 2020, a representative from PT Vale Indonesia, the chairman of the local civil organization society Kerukunan Wawainia Asli Sorowako (KWAS), and residents’ legal representative for land compensation made a joint agreement about the settlement of the Old Camp Area and Topondau as compensation from the land grab at Songko...