AriaWest welcomes formation of dispute-solving team<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Telecommunications contractor PT AriaWest
\nInternational has warmly greeted the government's plan to
\nestablish a special team to solve its lingering dispute
\nconcerning its joint operating contract (KSO) with state-owned
\ntelecommunications firm PT Telkom.<\/p>\n
The company has, however, called on the government team to
\nmove swiftly and take concrete action to find a solution to the
\ndispute.<\/p>\n
\"We've been trying to get Telkom to follow the KSO contract
\nfor many years, to no avail. So we're happy that the government
\nis taking an interest in our plight,\" AriaWest president John
\nVondras said in a statement on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications
\nAgum Gumelar said had he proposed the formation of a special team
\nto facilitate a solution to the dispute between AriaWest and
\nTelkom.<\/p>\n
The team will comprise officials from the ministry, the
\nMinistry of Finance and the Office of the Coordinating Minister
\nfor the Economy.<\/p>\n
Vondras said he had sent a letter to minister Agum in which he
\nurged the government to delay Telkom's annual shareholders'
\nmeeting, scheduled for May 10, until the end of June to show that
\nTelkom had good intentions to solve the dispute.<\/p>\n
The postponement was necessary to give AriaWest and Telkom
\nample time to find a solution to their dispute and the solution
\ncould be presented to Telkom's shareholders for approval during
\nthe general meeting, Vondras said.<\/p>\n
Under the ruling of the Capital Market Supervisory Agency
\n(Bapepam), at least 28 days' notice must be given for any
\nmaterial motions to be considered at the shareholders' meeting,
\naccording to Vondras.<\/p>\n
If the meeting was not postponed, AriaWest might go ahead with
\nits plan of filing for arbitration against Telkom, he said.<\/p>\n
But, Telkom's corporate communication vice president D.
\nAmarudien said on Wednesday Telkom would stick to its initial
\nschedule for the shareholders' meeting.<\/p>\n
\"The only purpose of stopping the shareholders meeting is to
\nprevent Telkom from concluding transactions with other KSO
\ninvestors at valuations, which demonstrate conclusively that
\nAriaWest's monetary demands on Telkom are entirely without
\nbasis,\" Amarudien said in a statement.<\/p>\n
AriaWest, a unit of the United States' telecommunications
\ngiant AT&T, operates a fixed telephone line network in West Java
\nunder a KSO scheme with Telkom.<\/p>\n
The KSO scheme, initiated in the mid-1990s, requires Telkom's
\nKSO partners to invest in new fixed lines and operate them under
\na profit-sharing scheme.<\/p>\n
The prolonged dispute came to the fore again recently
\nfollowing AriaWest's move to withhold Telkom's profit share
\ntotaling Rp 340 billion (US$31.4 million), charging the state
\ncompany of failing to meet its obligation of installing more than
\n100,000 new lines in West Java.<\/p>\n
AriaWest then announced that it had evacuated its workers from
\nTelkom's headquarters in West Java following alleged death
\nthreats by Telkom workers.<\/p>\n
In the latest attack against Telkom, AriaWest recently
\nthreatened to start arbitration proceedings against Telkom in
\nGeneva, demanding $1.3 billion in compensation.<\/p>\n
But Telkom dismissed AriaWest's claim about its failure to
\nmeet its obligation of installing fixed lines, insisting instead
\nthat it was AriaWest which had failed to meet the fixed line
\ntarget.<\/p>\n
The state company also dismissed the alleged death threats
\nagainst AriaWest's workers, saying West Java was one of the
\nsafest places in the country.<\/p>\n
Telkom further said it was ready to face AriaWest in front of
\nan arbitration panel in Geneva.<\/p>\n
\"AriaWest's plan of starting arbitration proceedings against
\nTelkom at the international arbitration panel in Geneva is being
\nresponded to by Telkom with coolness and optimism,\" Amarudien
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He added that Telkom was preparing a team of lawyers to
\nrepresent Telkom at the arbitration proceedings. (jsk)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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