Court supports govt's blessing of Freeport

JAKARTA (JP): A court yesterday rejected a lawsuit filed by a leading environmentalist group against the government for blessing the environmental conservation programs of PT Freeport Indonesia in Irian Jaya.

The Jakarta State Administrative Court upheld the decree of the Ministry of Mining and Energy, issued in February, which approved the US$ 36 million programs of the giant American copper mining company in preserving the areas on which it operates.

The panel of judges, chaired by Benjamin Mangkoedilaga, decided that the government's decree, signed by Secretary-General of the Ministry of Mines and Energy Umar Said, had met all official requirements.

"The secretary-general had the authority to sign the decree," Benjamin read the judges' hand-written verdict.

"We have decided to reject the lawsuit filed by Walhi," he added.

It took the chief judge less than 15 minutes to read the verdict. He was accompanied by Soemaryono and Is Sudaryanto at yesterday's session.

Walhi sued the ministry in May, accusing the secretary-general of acting beyond his authority. They said his office should have secured the organization's approval before signing the decree, because it is also a member of the ministry's Environmental Impact Analysis Commission.

The forum demanded that the court revoke the approval because it violated procedures. Freeport, it charged, disregarded the forum's evaluation of the company's waste which Wahli alleges is harmful to the environment.

Freeport is not party to the dispute.

The mining company obtained the concession of 100 square kilometers for copper and gold mining in Timika, Irian Jaya in 1967. The permit has been expanded to cover 2.6 million hectares since 1991.

The judges said that Walhi had absolute authority to represent Timika's people in their legal battle against the mining operation which they accused of damaging the environment.

The judges also said that Walhi, with its non-permanent member status on the commission, had the authority to judge Freeport's conservation and monitoring programs.

"The question, however, is whether the commission should follow all Walhi's evaluations," Benjamin said.

Benjamin also said that the commission could either accept or reject Walhi's evaluation.

Lawyers representing Walhi immediately expressed their intention to file an appeal.

Bambang Widjojanto, one of the plaintiff's lawyers, said the judges' argumentation was off target.

"We filed the lawsuit against the procedures in approving Freeport's conservation and monitoring programs," Bambang said after the session.

He was accompanied by Nursyahbani Katjasungkana and Nur Amalia of the Indonesian Women's Association for Humanity.

Bambang also cited a 1993 presidential decree which stipulates that an environmental impact management plan must have the approval of all commission members.

The secretary-general was represented by M. Saleh Sani, Sjaiful Bachtiar and Yoseph Suardi Sabda. (imn)