Medical exams find 'no Minamata symptoms'
A. Junaidi and Abdul Khalik, Jakarta
A preliminary medical examination of four Minahasa residents who were believed to have fallen ill due to severe pollution in Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, found no symptoms of Minamata disease, such as cramps or nerve damage, health minister Achmad Sujudi said on Friday.
"It's still unclear whether or not it's Minamata since the symptoms are not the same. But it's clear that the four residents are suffering from a skin ailment," Sujudi told a joint press conference at the office of Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.
The four residents who live near the bay have reported the U.S.-based Newmont Minahasa Raya gold mining company to the National Police for polluting the bay, causing them to fall sick.
The meeting was led by interim coordinating minister for people's welfare Malik Fadjar and attended by acting minister of energy and mineral resources Hatta Radjasa and a deputy minister of the state minister for the environment.
Sujudi said health workers would further examine the residents's blood, nails and hair to determine whether their illness was caused by pollution.
A team of doctors who had visited Ratatotok village also in Minahasa found similar skin problems, including lumps, in 30 residents in the village where local miners live.
"It could be caused by the heavy metal content in their body or just a common skin disease caused by poor sanitation," Sujudi said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Environmental Supervision Masnellyati Ilham said the pollution in Buyat Bay could be caused by either PT Newmont Minahasa or local miners.
"Many illegal gold miners are operating there and they cannot be controlled. We will conduct an investigation into both the company and the local miners," Masnellyati said.
Separately, the National Police announced on Friday it would investigate other mining companies across the country to avoid a similar incident, including PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara on Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara.
"Together with the Office of the State Minister of the Environment, we will examine all the companies' activities similar to those of Newmont following what we have observed in Minahasa," said National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.
Earlier on Friday, the four people from Buyat village who claimed to be suffering from Minamata disease underwent tests at the Eijkman Laboratory and Jakarta Health Agency Laboratory.
The laboratory results are expected to be submitted to the police in four days, a police officer said.
The four villagers: Masna Strima, 39, Sri Fika, 19, Juriah, 42, and Rasyid Rahmat, 38, then went to the National Police headquarters to file a complaint.
Also on Friday, PT Newmont Minahasa Raya filed a complaint with the National Police Headquarters about non-governmental organizations and individuals, which it said had released misleading information to the public that could damage the company's reputation.
The company reiterated that the accusations that it had caused Minamata disease were baseless.
Mohammad Kasmali, PT Newmont's legal consultant, said the company ran its operation in accordance with Indonesian law and had acted responsibly toward the community living in the surrounding area.