Irian tribal chief denies dropping suit

JAKARTA (JP): The leader of the Irian Jaya Amungme tribe, Tom Beanal, who is heading for the United States for a court hearing, denies that he ever asked to withdraw his lawsuit.

"Tom Beanal has never asked that his US$6 billion class action lawsuit be withdrawn from the U.S. District Court in New Orleans," Tom's American Lawyer, Martin E. Regan, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

"Tom has never terminated the employment contract of myself as his lawyer, either," he added.

He said that Tom has only asked to withdraw a letter, which he signed, stating that he had no intention of continuing with his lawsuit.

"Tom signed the letter at midnight on May 2, upon pressure from a third party. Tom had failed to contact me to verify the contents of the letter," he said. The lawyer refused to identify the third party.

The lawsuit, filed last month at the district court, lists Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and its mining affiliate, Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. of New Orleans, as the defendants.

The suit claims Freeport engaged in "eco-terrorism", "cultural genocide" and corporate policies that led to human rights violations against tribal people, as well as environmental destruction of resources the tribe needs.

The Freeport mine, some 3,000 kilometers (1,870 miles) east of Jakarta, sits on one of the largest known gold and copper reserves in the world.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at the U.S. District Court in New Orleans this Friday. It will be presided over by Judge Stanwood Duval.

Freeport Indonesia is 82-percent owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. The Indonesian government and a private company, PT Indocopper Investama, own 9 percent each. (imn)