Environmentalists laud verdict against Freeport

Environmentalists laud verdict against Freeport

JAKARTA (JP): Environmentalists lauded on Wednesday a court
ruling against the U.S.-based mining company PT Freeport
Indonesia for environmental damage, saying that it is a good
start for the environmental protection movement.

State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim applauded
the South Jakarta District Court's decision, which he said was
the first time the legal institution had sided with the interests
of the people.

"This is the first time a court has ruled in favor of the
public after several lawsuits on environmental issues have been
filed with the courts," he said on Wednesday after a meeting of
ministers under the Coordinating Ministry of People's Welfare.

Presiding judge Rusman Dani Achmad said in their verdict on
Tuesday that Freeport had spread misleading information about its
environmental management activities that led to the collapse of
its waste pile at Wanagon Lake near its copper and gold mine in
Grasberg, Irian Jaya, in 2000, that allegedly claimed four lives.
The court said the company had violated Law No. 23/1997 on
environmental management.

The law requires every company to provide accurate and correct
information about its environmental management activities.

Longgena Ginting, an executive of the Indonesian Forum for the
Environment (Walhi), which filed the lawsuit against Freeport,
said the court decision was only a "minor victory".

"But it does bring a positive political impact for the
activists's advocacy for the protection of the environment from
destruction caused by copper and gold mining activities and even
for the broader issues," he said.

"This is the first time we have won a trial out of eight cases
taken to court so far," he told The Jakarta Post.

Longgena, however, regretted the court's failure to see the
necessity for further legal power to be given to the government
to force the firm to review its Environmental Impact Assessment
and working contracts.

"The court's decision is certainly an advancement, but there
is still a long way to go," he added.

He said he was aware of the possible change of circumstances
should the case be appealed to higher courts. A Freeport lawyer
said that he would file an appeal.

Longgena revealed that in the near future Walhi would file at
least two suits involving the pollution of rivers, which have
been used for the dumping of industrial waste containing
poisonous and hazardous chemical substances.

The South Jakarta District Court also ordered Freeport to
follow the Environmental Management Impact Agency (Bapedal)
guidelines so as to reduce the amount of waste at its operation
sites and to maximize the function of its early warning system
for floods at its operation in Irian Jaya.

Walhi's Jakarta office executive director Ahmad Safrudin said
the NGO would submit three lawsuits to the East Jakarta District
Court regarding a waste management company's dumping of toxic
waste in Munjul village, Cipayung, East Jakarta which has
polluted groundwater.

"The first two are class actions by residents against the
government for their slow response to the water shortage in the
area, and the waste management company which doesn't really have
the systems or technology to handle its client industries'
waste," he told the Post.

"The other lawsuit is the environmentalists' legal standing
against the perpetrators of the environmental damage, including
industries and the government," he added. (bby)