Newmont case resumes in Manado court
Newmont case resumes in Manado court
Jongker Rumteh, The Jakarta Post/Manado
The trial of a local subsidiary of U.S.-based Newmont Mining Corp
resumed at the Manado District Court on Friday, with its American
president director insisting the company had nothing to do with a
baby's death after the tearful mother showed the court a photo of
the girl.
In the trial, which examined three witnesses, 40-year-old
Masna Stirman, who lived near the company's now closed mine,
showed a photo of her baby, Andini, who died in July 2004 at the
age of five months. However, neither Masna nor the prosecutors,
could specify Andini's cause of death or attempt to link her
illness to the mine.
"As a father, I can feel your suffering, but I personally
don't see any connection with our tailings," Richard Ness told
the court, as quoted by Reuters, using the technical term for
mine waste.
Newmont stopped mining on Sulawesi two years ago after
extracting all the gold it could. But it continued processing ore
until August 2004, when the mine was permanently shut.
The charges put on trial relate to the company's tailings
disposal processes, which allegedly involved dumping mercury and
arsenic into Buyat Bay.
Newmont has denied the charges in a case that foreign
investors mostly view as evidence of the legal uncertainty that
exists in the country.
However, environmentalists see the case as a test case for the
government, which has been accused of being lax in enforcing
environmental laws, especially toward multinational companies due
to its need for foreign investment.
In Friday's trial, the team of prosecutors questioned the
witnesses about the level of pollution in Buyat River and
surrounding Buyat Pante village.
Witness Marjan Ismail alleged that the river, which is the
residents' main water source, had been contaminated by the
company's tailings. "We used to take drinking water from the
river but now we can't do it anymore because we will fell sick
and dizzy after drinking it," Marjan said.
Last week, three villagers living close to the mine testified
they had suffered from lumps and dizziness among other
complaints. They did not, however, link their illnesses to
Newmont's mine.
The company's lawyers, Luhut Pangaribuan and Palmer
Situmorang, accused the prosecutors on Friday of diverting from
the main charge.
"The main charge is about dumping the tailings in the sea but
now the prosecutors shift the matter to (waste) in the river,"
Luhut said.
Presiding judge Ridwan Damanik decided that all -- both
prosecutors and lawyers -- should go together to Buyat for direct
observation.
"In order to get a clear picture (of the charges), we all need
to observe Buyat Pante village later," Ridwan said.
Ness, who faces up to 10 years in prison and the company a
US$68,000 fine if convicted, told the court he saw no connection
between the witnesses' illnesses and the company's tailings.
He said the company had managed its waste according to
international, environmental safety standards.
Prosecutor Purwanto declined to answer when asked whether
medical experts planned to testify in the trial, and insisted
that the charges against the company were strong.
"It all depends on what element of the indictment you are
looking at," he said, without elaborating.
The case will continue next week to examine more witnesses.