Samsung cleared by environmental agency
Samsung cleared by environmental agency
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Environment Sarwono
Kusumaatmadja disclosed yesterday that PT Cheil Samsung Indonesia
in Pasuruan, East Java, was officially cleared of charges of
polluting a nearby river as recently as Nov. 9.
The company, which produces monosodium glutamate, shut down
indefinitely beginning last week because of violent actions by
farmers who accused it of polluting their fish and shrimp ponds.
Police said 63 people were arrested for rioting over the weekend.
Yesterday, Sarwono reported the incidents to President
Soeharto, who inaugurated the $87.7 million Cheil Samsung plant
in 1989.
Sarwono explained that the company voluntarily requested
environmental auditing by various government agencies. The most
recent study was done by the Environmental Impact Management
Agency.
None of the studies found any irregularities in the way the
plant discharged its waste, Sarwono said.
He has sent another team to check whether there have been any
changes since the last study, and to detect the origins of the
waste polluting the farmers' ponds.
"Let's wait for the results of the new field study," he said.
Sarwono pointed out that the East Java provincial
administration ranks the best in managing the nation's ongoing
river clean-up projects.
He said he suspected that the quality of water in Pasuruan, as
in most other areas along the northern coast of Java, is poor. He
speculated that the pollution could have originated either from
industry, households or agriculture.
The minister also called for a thorough investigation into the
violent rampage, specially in view of the fact that the rioting
was not done by the local people, but by people from out of town,
including "college people" from Malang.
"I have no more comment, other than that there has got to be a
full investigation so that the government and the people know
that the brutal and destructive actions were carried out by
people who have their own agenda," he said.
Representatives of the Samsung Group, a giant Korean
conglomerate, denied yesterday having any relations with Cheil
Samsung Indonesia, saying that it divested all of its equity in
the company following management restructuring in 1992.
"Samsung Group is not responsible for the management and
operations of PT Cheil Samsung Indonesia, which in the recent
days has been the subject of public demonstration in Pasuruan,"
Samsung's Asia headquarters in Singapore, announced.
Cheil Foods and Chemicals was a subsidiary of Samsung when the
Pasuruan plant was established in 1989, but the 1992
restructuring led to their separation. (emb)