Irian tribal chief denies dropping suit

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lawsuit be withdrawn from the U.S. District Court in New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)