Prosecutors blamed for dropping pollution case

JAKARTA (JP): The public prosecutor's office in Mojokerto, East Java, has been brought to court by three non-government organizations for calling off a law suit against a local pulp and paper industry.

The Indonesian Environmental Forum (WALHI) has joined forces with Citra Asri Nusantara in Malang, East Java, Pondok Pesantren An-Nuqayah, a Moslem education institution in Madura, in petitioning the Mojokerto court to compel the public prosecutors to proceed with the litigation against PT Pakerin.

The Mojokerto court has agreed to hold a pretrial hearing beginning this week.

According to Walhi, the public prosecutors called off the litigation on June 5 last year, which was also Environment Day, saying that they lacked sufficient evidence to press charges against PT Pakerin.

The attitude of the prosecutor's office contrasted with that of the office of the State Minister of Environment which said that the pulp and paper firm was polluting the Porong river.

People living near the area have also complained that the company's operations have polluted their wells and damaged their farms, Walhi said, adding that their complaints were backed by laboratory findings.

The Environmental Impact Management Agency also found that the company's waste discharged into the river did not meet biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) standards set by the government.

"We're taking the prosecutors to court because we want law enforcement officials to be consistent in applying environmental regulations. The litigation against the company is also crucial in the campaign against industrial polluters," Mas Achmad Santosa said on behalf of Walhi.

Mas Achmad said the East Java provincial government has also intervened on several occasions to block legal action against PT Pakerin, one of 566 in the province that were netted during a massive official campaign against polluting companies in 1991. (prs)