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.