ExxonMobil sued over rights abuses in Aceh<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (Agencies): The International Labor Rights Fund
\nannounced here on Thursday that it has sued ExxonMobil
\nCorporation on charges it paid and directed government security
\nforces who committed atrocities while protecting an ExxonMobil
\nfacility in Aceh.<\/p>\n
The suit was filed on Wednesday in a U.S. District Court on
\nbehalf of 11 residents of Aceh, under the Alien Torture Claims
\nAct, which allows U.S. jurisdiction over acts committed outside
\nthe United States.<\/p>\n
ExxonMobil and state oil and gas company Pertamina exploit
\nnatural gas in the violence-torn province.<\/p>\n
"ExxonMobil understood from the day it decided to begin its
\nproject in Aceh that the army units assigned to protect company
\nwells were notoriously brutal in their treatment of Indonesia's
\nethnic minorities," Terry Collingsworth, an attorney for the
\nFund, said in a statement as quoted by AFP.<\/p>\n
The suit charges that ExxonMobil provided logistical and
\nmaterial support to Indonesian troops operating in Aceh province
\nduring the 1989-1998 period when former president Soeharto
\ndeclared it a "military operational area" in order to combat a
\nseparatist movement waged by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).<\/p>\n
During that period Mobil Oil, which has since merged with
\nExxon, provided logistical and material support to Indonesian
\ntroops, which included building barracks where elite military
\nunits carried out torture and providing excavators used to dig
\nmass graves, the suit says.<\/p>\n
PT ExxonMobil Indonesia, which suspended operations in March
\nfor security reasons, is preparing to resume oil and gas
\nproduction in Aceh in early July.<\/p>\n
In a statement, ExxonMobil categorically denied the charges.<\/p>\n
"ExxonMobil condemns the violation of human rights in any
\nform. As such, our company rejects and categorically denies any
\nsuggestion or implication that it or its affiliate companies were
\nin any way involved with alleged human rights abuses by security
\nforces in Aceh," the statement said.<\/p>\n
"We are deeply troubled and highly concerned about the
\nviolence in North Aceh," the statement said, adding that the
\ncompany has "always been sensitive to the needs of the local
\nresidents, our employees and the government."<\/p>\n
"The unrest in this area seriously impacts the safety and
\nwell-being of our workers, their families and our subcontractors,
\nas well as those who live in the area."<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, Pertamina President Director Baihaki Hakim
\nconsidered the human rights lawsuit a misdirected case.<\/p>\n
Baihaki said that the responsibility to protect ExxonMobil's
\nfacilities in Indonesia is in the hands of Pertamina.<\/p>\n
"The protection for all vital installations is the
\nresponsibility of Pertamina, it is based on our production-
\nsharing contract agreement with ExxonMobil," Baihaki told
\njournalists on Friday.<\/p>\n
He further asserted that it was common for Pertamina to ask
\nfor security assistance from the government if its vital
\ninstallations were in danger or came under threat.<\/p>\n
He denied, however, that the company had financed the troops.
\nPertamina simply provided some health, housing and transportation
\nfacilities for security officers, Baihaki said.<\/p>\n
"The salary of the soldiers are paid by the government, we
\nonly provide them with some facilities like housing and
\ntransportation in return for their service in guarding our
\nfacilities," he added.(dja)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/exxonmobil-sued-over-rights-abuses-in-aceh-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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