WALHI urges govt to solve dispute in Halmahera

WALHI urges govt to solve dispute in Halmahera

P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) asserted on
Wednesday that the government has failed to prevent the
irresponsible exploitation of natural resources that led to
recent bloody confrontation in Halmahera, North Maluku.

"The clash in Toguraci forest in Halmahera, North Maluku
claimed one life due to the repressive actions of the security
forces," said Longgena Ginting, the executive director of WALHI.

Rusli Tungkapi, a local resident of Halmahera was shot dead by
a police officer during a rally held at the Toguraci forest on
Jan. 7.

In the protest, the Kao and Malifut tribes of Halmahera,
demanded that gold miner PT Nusa Halmahera Mineral (NHM) close
its open-pit mine since it had damaged their forests.

WALHI accused NHM of illegally mining in Toguraci forest in
violation of Law No. 41/1999 which bans open-pit mining in
protected forests as well as on ancestral land.

Ginting said that Newcrest Mining Ltd., which holds 82.5
percent of the shares in NHM, had not employed sustainable mining
techniques.

"Instead, Newcrest has engaged in destructive mining
techniques," said Ginting. This statement is reinforced by a
comment from Igor O'Neill, from the Mineral Policy Institute of
Australia, who said that the standards for community development
and environment applied by Newcrest in Australia were not being
applied in Indonesia.

When asked about WALHI's accusation of illegal mining
practices, the spokesman of NHM, Syahrir, told The Jakarta Post
on Wednesday that the company's mining contract signed with the
government on April 18, 1997, stated that NHM has the right to
run mining operations in the area.

After the passage of Law No. 41 in 1999, which banned open-pit
mining in protected forests, the company suspended production in
the Toguraci forest.

However, Minister of Forestry M. Prakosa issued a new permit
on May 9, 2003 to allow NHM to temporarily resume their
production until the end of June 2003, a time when the government
was expected to have already decided on the fate of 22 mining
companies (including NHM), whose mining operations in protected
forest were banned following the implementation of Law No. 41.

"Now we are waiting for the presidential decree, until then,
we will continue our regular production activities since it's
legal," said Syahrir.

Syahrir was referring to the issuance of government regulation
No. 34/2003 last year on the possible change in status of certain
protected forest areas, which will then allow open-pit mining
activities in the area.

Syahrir claimed that during the two-and-a-half years of the
company's operations, it has paid US$38 million in taxes and
royalties to the government. The royalties, totaled $6 million,
of which 80 percent went to the local government and 20 percent
went to the central government.

From the 80 percent paid to the local government, 16 percent
went to the provincial administration, 32 percent to the regency
where the mines are, and another 32 percent to other regencies
and cities within North Maluku.

Syahrir also claimed that the company has allocated 1 percent
of its income for community development programs for local people
worth Rp 17 billion (US$2 million).

According to Syahrir NHM owns rights to a total mining area of
31,020 hectares. The state-owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang
owns 17.5 percent of NHM's shares.