Police grill Nabiel about alleged pollution in Buyat

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Police questioned former state minister of the environment Nabiel Makarim for five hours on Monday in connection with alleged pollution in Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, where PT Newmont Minahasa Raya ceased operations late August.

Nabiel could be named a suspect in the case if investigators found sufficient evidence that was complicit in covering up the alleged contamination in the bay, National Police director of specific crime department Brig. Gen. Suharto said.

The former minister in Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration arrived at about 10 a.m. for questioning and left the National Police Headquarters at 3:30 p.m. through the back door. He made no comment about the case.

"As a former minister responsible for monitoring activities of PT Newmont, which could have led to pollution in Buyat Bay, Nabiel must know whether the company had complied with regulations or not," Suharto said.

He said Nabiel should clarify whether the company had submitted reports of ecological risk assessment (ERA) regularly to his office as required by regulations.

He said the questioning of Nabiel was also aimed at completing the case file of five suspects, all Newmont executives, which was recently returned by the North Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office to the police due to lack of evidence.

Apart from Nabiel, the police would also summon more experts this week to provide scientific explanations on sampling methods the police used during their investigation into the Buyat Bay case, Suharto said.

The results of the planned questioning would be included in the case file before being resubmitted to the prosecutors, he said.

Based on forensic laboratory tests in August, the police charged Newmont with contaminating Buyat Bay in Minahasa, as it was the only mining firm operating in the area for eight years until August.

The police findings showed heavy metals in the bay exceeded the safety levels set by Nabiel's office.

The police named five Newmont employees -- American Bill Long, Australian Phil Turner, and three Indonesians David Sompie, Jerry Kojansow, and Putra Jayatri -- as suspects and detained them in late September.

However, all of them were released last Saturday following a week of Newmont's campaign against their arrests in addition to the requests for the suspects' freedom by their families, the North Sulawesi governor and the province's mining and energy department head of legal affairs.

Newmont president Richard B. Ness was also declared a suspect in the case. He was briefly held but later freed due to health reasons.

Suharto said the five suspects were recently released because they were needed in arrangements of the U.S.-based mining firm's closure that started at the end of August.

"Besides, we don't need to question them anymore," he argued.

Newmont has repeatedly denied the pollution allegations against it, pointing out the outcome of several independent laboratory tests, such as those carried out by the Minamata Institute of Japan which concluded that the bay was not polluted by heavy metals.

A joint government team comprising experts from Nabiel's office, the Ministry of Health and the police, as well as other related agencies, is expected to give results soon of its own investigation into the Buyat Bay case.