Govt seeks out-of-court settlement with Newmont

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government will soon negotiate an out-of-court settlement with PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR), a local unit of a U.S.-based gold mining company, which non-governmental organizations have accused of polluting Buyat Bay in North Sulawesi, State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said on Thursday.

The decision was taken after the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday advised both parties to find an amicable settlement to the dispute.

"Negotiations are expected to reach an outcome faster than court sessions and this is not just an effort to come to peaceful terms," the state minister told reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of his seven deputy ministers in Jakarta.

He expected that through negotiations the case would come to an end within months and the government could then take resolute steps to solve related problems, such as repairing the damage and giving compensation to local residents who have suffered from the alleged contamination in the Buyat area.

The government has filed a US$117.68 million civil lawsuit at the South Jakarta District Court against NMR, which has been accused of polluting Buyat Bay.

The two sides initially agreed to settle the dispute via a court mediation process. However, the parties failed to reach an agreement and, instead, the case stirred up considerable controversy in the media, said the minister.

Rachmat said that throughout the mediation process NMR had not presented before the mediation judge, I Wayan Rena.

The minister denied that an out-of-court negotiation process would reflect weak enforcement of environmental laws since the government would not abandon its criminal case against NMR and its six executives.

"We are waiting for the trial to begin at the Manado District Court in North Sulawesi," Rachmat said.

Aside from the civil lawsuit, the government has also filed a criminal lawsuit against NMR and its senior executives.

According to presiding judge Soedarto, the date for an out-of-court settlement had been set for July 7. Soedarto expected that before that date, both sides should be able to report the outcome, or the case would be tried in court.

Newmont has denied allegations that its mining operations near Buyat Bay resulted in pollution that caused villagers to develop skin diseases and tumors.

NMR has admitted it released 17 tons of waste mercury into the air and 16 tons into the sea over a five-year period, but maintained that these amounts were far below Indonesian emission standards.

Recently, Newmont co-financed an international seminar in which speakers concluded that the bay had not been polluted. (004)