Law on mining challenged

Law on mining challenged

JAKARTA: As many as 90 non governmental organizations (NGOs)
and 80 individuals have challenged Law No. 19/2004, which
strengthens a government regulation in lieu of law approving open
pit mining in protected forests.

Dede Nurdin Sadat, one of the lawyers representing the
plaintiffs, said that the law unconstitutional because its
clearly states that the law was enacted to support the interests
of investors, rather than the Indonesian people.

He told the Constitutional Court on Wednesday that the
Constitution guarantees human rights, including the rights of
people to live in a preserved environment, while mining
operations are always associated with environmental destruction.

The government regulation in lieu of law, which was issued
earlier last year, allows 13 mining firms to resume operations in
protected forests.

The firms were part of a large group of mining companies
forced to suspend operations following the enactment of a new
forestry law in 1999 that banned open-pit mining in protected
areas. -- JP