Govt criticized over toxic waste import

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

The Riau Islands customs office has confiscated a barge loaded with tons of allegedly toxic waste materials as it re-entered Indonesian waters, with environmentalists calling on the government to be stern in resolving the issue.

The barge, its contents and the towing boat were seized early on Friday after it re-entered Tanjung Balai Karimun waters in Riau Islands province, instead of heading back to its port of origin in Singapore, as it had been ordered to do by the government.

Thousands of tons of waste material had been imported by local fertilizer firm PT APEL from a Singaporean firm last year.

The waste was then dumped on Galang island in Batam, and remained there until State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar visited the area last week and ordered the waste be re- exported to Singapore. The Basel Convention bans countries from transferring toxic waste materials to other countries.

The Office of the State Minister of the Environment said last month that it was investigating three Indonesians from PT APEL and a Singaporean in relation to the case.

Tanjung Balai Karimun customs office head Heru Santoso said that the barge was carrying over 3,000 tons of waste, but he could not say how many people were arrested.

The barge left for Singapore on Tuesday, escorted by the Indonesian Navy, customs officials and environment ministry officials. However, after the barge entered international waters, it slowed down and changed direction toward Riau Islands province.

Sudarsono, deputy for legal affairs at the Office of the State Minister of the Environment, declined on Saturday to provide any response concerning the case.

A number of environmentalists and local councillors initially expressed doubt that the barge would actually reach Singapore, as there seemed to be no certainty that Singapore would accept the materials.

I Wayan Githa from Batam Lestari Lingkungan, a non- governmental organization, said the government was not being stern in dealing with the matter.

"Until now, there's been no clarity about who has been arrested. We don't even know about any legal processes being taken against the importer and the exporter. The government must take the case to international courts so that Singapore will admit that they have exported toxic materials into Indonesia," he said.

Batam councillor Jasarmen Purba said the case has become an international scandal and concerned parties must be held responsible.

"The government needs to investigate the case thoroughly, including questioning those who were involved during the import process," he said.

A similar concern came from Iskandar, a researcher at the Riau Island Research and Training Center, who said that the government was careless in its handling of the case.

"There was never any guarantee from the government that Singapore would take the materials. Even Ajit Singh (a Singapore consul in Riau) has just found out about the re-export (policy)," he said.