Newmont trial over pollution charges begins
Jongker Rumteh, The Jakarta Post/Manado
The government presented its criminal pollution case against a local subsidiary of U.S.-based Newmont, the world's largest gold miner and a major foreign investor in Indonesia, during a first hearing on Friday in Manado, North Sulawesi.
A team of four prosecutors, led by Robert Ilat, took turns reading a 72-page indictment, which accused Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR) of intentionally dumping millions of tons of mine tailings containing mercury and arsenic into the Buyat Bay between 1997 and 2004.
The indictment said that NMR and its president director, Richard Ness, the sole individual charged in the case, violated Law No. 23/1997 on the environment.
If found guilty, Ness, a 55-year-old American citizen who has been working in Indonesia since 1979, could be sent to jail for up to 10 years and fined up to Rp 666 million (US$ 68,375). The company could be fined the same amount plus the cost of rehabilitating the environment.
Prosecutors said that the contamination was a result of Newmont's unauthorized disposal of mine tailings, into the Buyat Bay seabed.
"NMR intentionally dumped toxic waste that was over the maximum government-stipulated limit into Buyat Bay," Robert told the panel of five presiding judges, led by Ridwan Damanaik.
"Because of this, the surrounding environment of Buyat has been destroyed, making the area uninhabitable," he said.
Prosecutors also cited a report from the National Police Forensics Laboratory that indicated that several villagers had excessive levels of mercury and arsenic in their body and marine life also had excessive levels of the poisons.
After the indictment was read Ness told the panel of judges that the indictment did not specifically state what crime, if any, he had committed.
"I don't know why I am sitting here in court," said Ness, who joined Newmont in 1998.
He added that the indictment was the first official notification he and Newmont had received about any alleged pollution since the now defunct mine began mining in 1996.
Luhut Pangaribuan, the head of Ness' and Newmont's six member legal team said that they would present their defense during the next hearing, which is scheduled for Aug. 19.
He said that because the government had failed, as required by environmental laws, to issue any warnings or administrative sanctions to Newmont beforehand, the criminal proceedings should not even be taking place.
The defense is also expected to cite a World Health Organization-backed report that found no evidence of pollution.
The trial was moved from the Manado District Court to a municipal hall that was tightly guarded as police sought to prevent repeat of a court incident that occurred on Tuesday.
The case is being closely watched by foreign investors, who mostly view the trial as evidence of the legal uncertainty that exists in Indonesia.
Environmentalists, on the other hand, view the trial as a test case for the government, whom they accuse of being lax in enforcing environmental laws, especially toward multinational companies, due to its need for foreign investment.