Our common responsibility

Our common responsibility

When inaugurating the new town of Kuala Kencana and the PT
Freeport Indonesia environmental laboratory at East Timika, Fak
Fak in Irian Jaya on Tuesday, President Soeharto specifically
asked the mining company to constantly heed the anxieties of the
population regarding the possible negative affects of its
operations. In his address the President warned that the
government would not tolerate mining activities which damaged the
environment.

In this connection it is appropriate to note the statement by
Head of East Java Prosecutor's Office Sudjono C. Atmonegoro in
Surabaya recently that damage to the environment, if left
unheeded, could crimes endanger the safety of people more than
ordinary crimes.

In this context we have seen many disputes and conflicting
arguments erupt between non-governmental organizations and
companies concerning the effects of contamination and
environmental damage. Specifically, the dispute which has been
going on for the past few months between the Indonesian
Environmental Forum and the copper mining company Freeport
Indonesia could be mentioned.

Aside from those arguments, the warnings by the President and
the Prosecutor's Office of East Java are timely: the damage done
to the environment has now reached a critical stage and should be
tackled seriously.

-- Surabaya Post