Court concludes hearing of Freeport case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta State Administrative Court concluded
\nyesterday the hearing of a lawsuit filed by the Indonesian Forum
\nfor the Environment against the government for approving the
\nenvironmental conservation program of the giant American copper
\nmining company PT Freeport Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Both the forum and the government, in this case the
\nrepresentatives of the secretary-general of the Ministry of Mines
\nand Energy, presented their closing arguments at a hearing
\nyesterday. Both stuck firmly to their positions.<\/p>\n
The panel of judges, led by Benjamin Mangkoedilaga, is to
\nannounce its verdict on Oct. 30.<\/p>\n
The trial is happening as Freeport, which runs a huge mining
\noperation in Irian Jaya, takes some of the heat from the
\ncontroversy over the alleged killings of several civilians in
\nclashes with the military in Timika, the township in which the
\ncompany is operating.<\/p>\n
Freeport, which is in the process of spending US$36 million on
\nan environmental conservation program, is not a party to the
\ndispute in the lawsuit filed by the forum.<\/p>\n
The environmental group is contesting a Feb. 17 decision by
\nthe Ministry of Mines and Energy to approve Freeport's
\nenvironmental conservation and monitoring programs, saying that
\nthe government should also have secured the agreement of the
\nforum, which has a seat in the ministry's Environmental Impact
\nAnalysis Commission.<\/p>\n
Lawyers representing the forum told the hearing yesterday that
\na 1993 presidential decree clearly stipulates that an
\nenvironmental impact management plan must have the approval of
\nall commission members.<\/p>\n
The approval for Freeport's environmental conservation
\nprogram, signed by Secretary-General Umar Said, therefore, is
\ninvalid, they argued.<\/p>\n
The forum is demanding that the court revoke the approval
\nbecause it was issued in violation of procedures, including
\nfailure to take into account concerns by the forum about the
\nwaste being discharged by the mining company, which, it says,
\ncould harm the environment.<\/p>\n
Lawyers for the Ministry of Mines and Energy argued that the
\nforum only holds a \"non-permanent\" seat in its environmental
\ncommission and, therefore, does not have any right to its claim
\nto represent the commission in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
The lawyers said the lawsuit has been directed at the wrong
\nperson because the secretary-general only signed the approval
\nletter on behalf of his minister, the person who makes the
\ndecision on such issues.<\/p>\n
The forum was represented by Bambang Widjojanto of the Jakarta
\nLegal Aid Institute, while the secretary-general of the Ministry
\nof Mines and Energy was represented by a full team of lawyers:
\nHarprileny Soebiantoro, M. Saleh Sani, Sjaiful Bachtiar, and
\nYoseph Suardi Sabda. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/court-concludes-hearing-of-freeport-case-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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