Court supports govt's blessing of Freeport
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)