Irian tribal chief files suit against Freeport again
Irian tribal chief files suit against Freeport again
JAKARTA (JP): An Indonesian tribal leader announced yesterday
he had refiled his US$6 billion class action suit against
Freeport-McMoRan Inc., charging the American mining company with
environmental and cultural destruction.
"I have decided to refile the lawsuit against Freeport McMoRan
Inc. after discussing the first lawsuit with my lawyer," Tom
Beanal, leader of the Amungme Tribal Council (near the company's
Irian Jaya mine), and outspoken critic of the company, said at a
press conference yesterday.
His earlier decision to withdraw his lawsuit was made because
of a "misunderstanding" between him and his lawyer, he added.
He told the press that he had not understood what the lawyer
meant in the previous lawsuit.
Accompanying the tribal leader at the press conference were
Tom's American lawyer, Martin E. Regan, Jr, and chairman of the
local Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) Abdul
Hakim Garuda Nusantara.
The lawsuit, filed last month in the U.S. District Court in
New Orleans, also lists Freeport's mining affiliate, Freeport-
McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. of New Orleans, as the defendant.
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.
Tom withdrew the lawsuit early this month, on grounds that it
was filed by his lawyer without his consent.
"We are not happy with the way in which it was rushed to court
without a chance to consult fully with the Amungme people," he
said at that time.
The Freeport mine, some 3,000 km (1,870 miles) east of
Jakarta, sits on one of the largest known gold and copper
reserves in the world.
The complaint was filed against Freeport under a federal law
that allows foreigners to sue in U.S. courts for violations of
international law.
"The lawsuit is in line with article 28 of the Alien Tort
Claim Act and the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991," Tom
said.
The company's Indonesian operations have been plagued by
allegations of wrongdoing after an Australian activist group
accused the company of violating the rights of tribal people near
the Irian Jaya mine a year ago.
According to the suit, Freeport's security guards "engaged in
summary execution, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture,
"disappearances", surveillance and the destruction of property."
"Violations have occurred on Freeport buses, in Freeport
workshops, at Freeport security command centers and stations, and
Freeport private roadways and containers," it said.
Freeport Indonesia is 82-percent owned by Freeport-McMoRan
Cooper and Gold Inc., an affiliate of Freeport-McMoRan. The
Indonesian government and a private company, PT Indocopper
Investama, own nine percent each.(imn)