Java Cement Plant Sparks National Environmental Debate

Last year, Indonesia’s biggest cement conglomerate won a final government permit to build a new 900-hectare production plant in a Central Java area south of the town of Rembang, where five villages now sit.

But as word spread of the project, by Semen Indonesia – formerly Semen Gresik – area residents rebelled. Tensions came to a head in June when throngs…