Walhi demands Freeport apologize for misleading info

Walhi demands Freeport apologize for misleading info

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi)
demanded on Tuesday that mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia
apologize to the public for spreading misleading information on a
recent accident at its overburden dump.

During the preliminary hearing of the case in South Jakarta
District Court, Walhi's team of lawyers said that Freeport should
make a public apology through the national and international
media.

The lawyers demanded that Freeport should publish a full-page
advertisement for one week in at least 10 national daily
newspapers, and two local daily newspapers in Irian Jaya; a one-
page advertisement for a month in at least 10 national magazines,
five international magazines, and in three international daily
newspapers.

The company must also air prime time advertisements for a week
on six national television stations, and five international
television stations; and on 10 national radio stations at least
five times a day, with each advertisement having a duration of
one minute, for 10 days, they added.

"The apology must be made at least seven days after the
court's decision and for every instance of delay Walhi demands a
penalty of $100,000," Walhi's lawyers said in a statement read
out during the hearing.

Walhi's legal team includes R Dwiyanto Prihartono, Abdul
Harris Semendawai and Chairil Syah.

The preliminary hearing was presided over by Judge Lalu
Mariyun, who is also President of the South Jakarta District
Court, and was attended by around 40 spectators.

Walhi filed a lawsuit against Freeport following a landslide
at its overburden waste dump at Wanagon Lake near its copper and
gold mine in Grasberg, Irian Jaya. The accident, which occurred
on May 4, lead to the death or disappearance of four workers.

Walhi accused Freeport of spreading misleading information on
the accident in order to protect itself.

At the beginning of the hearing, Judge Lalu invited Walhi and
Freeport to settle their dispute out of court, but the offer was
rejected by Walhi's lawyers.

"They (Freeport) have announced their information to the
public through the House of Representatives. Thus, it would be
wrong for us to settle out of court," Walhi's lawyers stated.

The lawyers further stated that Freeport had violated the 1997
Law on Environmental Management which obliges every company to
provide accurate and correct information about its environmental
management activities.

They added that Freeport had provided incorrect information in
the press releases dated May 5 and May 24, during the hearing
held by House of Representatives Commission VIII on the
Environment, Science, and Technology on June 28, and in the
company's 1998 annual report.

In the press release dated May 5 and during the House hearing,
Freeport stated that an early warning system had been set up at
Banti, a village 16 kilometers from the Wanagon basin, to warn
the villagers of floods.

Freeport also stated that the flood at Banti had not resulted
in the loss of life as the system had worked perfectly, Walhi's
lawyers contended.

However, Walhi's lawyers stressed, the early warning system
could in no wise be described as having worked properly.

"The Banti villagers said they only knew of the flood from the
sound of rushing water, and that the early warning system only
sounded around 30 minutes after the flood had reached the
village," the lawyers' statement said.

They blamed the disappearance and death of the workers at
Wanagon Lake on the malfunctioning of the early warning system.

Also in the May 5 press release, according to the lawyers,
Freeport deliberately implied that the Wanagon accident had been
the result of natural causes.

"An environmental report by Freeport had said that Wanagon
Lake was prone to accidents. This did not stop the defendant from
dumping huge amounts of overburden in the lake. Therefore, the
defendant knowingly and deliberately increased the risk of
accidents," Semendawai said.

Freeport was represented by Sidi Minang Warman, Isnanu Chalid,
Nanda Hidayat and Iwan Sidharta of the Minang Warman & Associates
law firm.

The hearing was adjourned until Sept. 13, when Freeport's
lawyers will submit their responses to Walhi's charges. (10)