Prosecutors blamed for dropping pollution case

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)