Govt under fire over Newmont case<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Activists condemned a suggestion by a minister that the
\ngovernment might consider an out-of-court settlement with U.S.
\nmining company Newmont in a civil lawsuit involving alleged
\npollution of Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, warning that it would set
\na bad precedent for the enforcement of environmental law.<\/p>\n
Raja Siregar of the Indonesia Forum for the Environment
\n(Walhi) said that if the government acceded to Newmont's offer of
\nmediation, this would prove its half-heartedness in enforcing the
\nlaw in the environmental field.<\/p>\n
\"Money defeats everything, including the law,\" he said over
\nthe weekend.<\/p>\n
Indro Sugianto of the Indonesia Center for Environmental Law
\n(ICEL) concurred with Raja, saying that the government was
\nplacing foreign investment ahead of the need to protect the
\nenvironment.<\/p>\n
\"This regime is an investment-obsessed regime,\" he said,
\nreferring to the government of President Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono, who is set to meet U.S. investors during a visit to
\nthe U.S. later this month.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal
\nBakrie said that the government might drop a US$133.6 million
\nlawsuit against Newmont unit PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR)
\nshould both sides reach agreement on an out-of-court settlement.<\/p>\n
Judges of the South Jakarta District Court, which began
\nhearing the civil lawsuit last month, suggested that the
\ngovernment and NMR settle their dispute amicably. Judges hearing
\ncivil cases are obliged to suggest this at the outset of a case.<\/p>\n
Aburizal's comment came after a meeting with other relevant
\nministers, the Attorney General's Office (AGO), and the North
\nSulawesi administration.<\/p>\n
The meeting mandated the establishment of an interdepartmental
\ncommittee to support the AGO, which represents the government in the
\nlawsuit against NMR, whose gold mining operation has been accused
\nof polluting Buyat Bay.<\/p>\n
Aburizal added, however, that the government would not drop
\nthe criminal case against NMR and six of its executives on
\ncharges arising out of the same case.<\/p>\n
The government has said that the civil lawsuit was aimed at
\nseeking damages \"to restore the environment in Buyat and relocate
\nits residents\" away from the affected areas, while the criminal
\nprosecution was intended \"to create a deterrent against breaking
\nenvironmental law\".<\/p>\n
Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, a lawyer representing NMR, said that
\nthe company had yet to be informed about a possible out-of-court
\nsettlement.<\/p>\n
However, he told The Jakarta Post by phone that NMR was ready
\nto engage in mediation to settle the case if the government
\ndropped both the civil action and the criminal prosecution.<\/p>\n
Newmont, which is also facing a lawsuit worth millions of
\ndollars in Peru, has denied the allegations that its mining
\noperations near Buyat Bay resulted in pollution that caused
\nvillagers to develop skin diseases and tumors.<\/p>\n
A string of scientific tests on the bay and its residents by
\nthe government, Newmont and other parties have produced
\nconflicting results.<\/p>\n
Newmont has admitted it released 17 tons of waste mercury into
\nthe air and 16 tons into the water over five years, but said that
\nthese releases were far below Indonesian emissions standards.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-under-fire-over-newmont-case-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}