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  Yahoo News 24 Apr 07
Indonesia clears US miner in pollution trial
by Nabiha Shahab

Yahoo News 23 Apr 07
In an Indonesian bay, fish, tumours and controversy
by Nabiha Shahab

Junaidi, a 20-year-old fisherman, proudly shows off his catch as children play nearby in the turquoise waters of Indonesia's Buyat Bay. "I would not move anywhere else, where else would you easily get this much fish?" asked Junaidi, pointing to a tub full of fish caught in the bay.

Like many in this tranquil and remote coastal community, Junaidi rejects claims that the bay on the northern tip of Sulawesi island has been polluted by US mining giant Newmont.

The firm, the world's largest gold miner, has been charged with dumping tonnes of toxic waste, including mercury and arsenic, into the pristine bay from its local mine before it was shut in 2004.

A court in nearby Manado is expected to rule Tuesday on whether Newmont's local subsidiary and its head poisoned water around the bay over several years, thereby sickening villagers and killing marine life.

Although Junaidi cares little of the case, several thousand residents, including from a nearby village, as well as foreign investors and environmentalists, anxiously await the outcome of the final chapter in the three-year controversy.

Some from the village, also called Buyat, just outside the bay and downhill from the defunct mine, complain of tumours, skin rashes and headaches -- illnesses they blame on Newmont's waste.

Jania Ompi, 44, has a tumour the size of a fist on her back and can barely see out of one eye. With little energy and in constant pain, Ompi said she relies on her adult children to collect coconuts from their trees and tend the maize plants. Despite five months in a provincial hospital for treatment on the tumour and for an operation on her eyes, she said her suffering continues. "It is better to die than live like this," Ompi said.

She added that her husband, Abdullah Mokodompit, had a tumour removed from his side last year, and is now bedridden most days with chronic asthma.

Other families, also suffering from illnesses, have relocated from the bay, after complaints first emerged of pollution in 2004, a community leader said. "We asked the government to relocate people from the bay who were suffering the most," said Faisal Paputungan, who has aches in his feet and cramps.

The 64-year-old grandfather said every month about 200 residents of Buyat village visit a local health centre. "Before 1999 the number of people coming to the centre was a lot less than that," said Fatlun Gonibala, a nurse at the centre.

Many villagers, on both sides of the court case, started arriving in Manado Monday on trucks and in buses for the verdict. "We have come far to hear the judges' decision," said fisherman Anwar Stirman, who left the bay after the complaints were made.

Although the villagers blame the pollution, studies of water and marine life around Buyat Bay have shown conflicting results.

A World Health Organisation-backed report and testimony from doctors and experts, during the 20-month trial against Newmont, showed mercury and arsenic levels were well within normal limits.

But Budi Haryanto, an epidemiologist in the University of Indonesia, said a study conducted for the government showed unacceptable levels of the poisons in samples taken from some locals.

"Whatever Newmont does, it cannot cover the fact that there was a problem and it came after the mine opened," he said.

Back in Buyat Bay, boat owner Gasmin Maku is grateful for the money Newmont has poured into the town. A new resort has opened up bearing its name. "Life is good. There is plenty of business during the holidays," said Maku, who takes visitors from the resort on sight-seeing trips in his boat and children on tyre rides around the bay.

Newmont agreed last year to pay 30 million dollars in an out-of-court settlement of a civil suit with the government over the pollution.

The deal, which did not see the Denver-based company admit any wrongdoing, stipulates the money be spent on environmental monitoring, as well as health, education and infrastructure projects.

Yahoo News 24 Apr 07
Indonesia clears US miner in pollution trial
by Nabiha Shahab

A court in Indonesia on Tuesday cleared US mining giant Newmont of dumping tonnes of toxic waste, closing for now a case that risked the nation's efforts to increase foreign investment.

Prosecutors had sought a three-year jail term for company executive Richard Ness in a high-profile case closely watched by international business leaders, environmentalists and the Indonesian government.

Both Ness and the local branch of Newmont, the world's largest gold miner, were acquitted, although prosecutors said they would appeal.

They had been charged with pumping tonnes of waste containing mercury and arsenic into Buyat Bay, which is some 2,300 kilometres (1,400 miles) northeast of Jakarta, from its now defunct mine on Sulawesi island. Ness and PT Newmont Minahasa Raya were also accused of sickening villagers and poisoning marine life with the waste.

Ness, in court with his wife and son to hear the verdict, said that he was "delighted that justice and truth had prevailed." "I am thrilled that after two and a half years of false allegations, my name and that of my fellow employees have been cleared and our reputation restored."

But he called for organisations that pushed pollution claims against Newmont to be prosecuted.

"I do feel that there was a crime committed and many people in the community suffered because of that crime," he told reporters.

Prosecutor Purwanta, who led the 20-month trial in the Manado provincial court on Sulawesi, said he would file an appeal within 14 days. "They (the judges) only adopted the defence plea of the lawyer and dismissed what had been proven by the prosecutors," he said.

Around 100 environmentalists, who had gathered outside the court, chanted slogans against the decision while armed riot police stood guard. Some 100 villagers, both supporters and opponents of Newmont, were also on hand.

"This is unjust," said one, Janiah Ompi, who claims the pollution caused her tumour and eye problems. "This is proof that justice is difficult to enforce for small people like us in our own country," said villager Anwar Stirman, weeping.

Environmentalists had hoped that a guilty verdict would send a signal to companies operating in Indonesia amid increasing environmental degradation in the resource-rich nation.

Complaints from villagers living around the bay included headaches, skin rashes and tumours, prompting a police inquiry and charges against Newmont in August 2005.

Studies of waters around the bay have shown conflicting results. A World Health Organisation-backed report and others found no evidence of pollution, but government tests showed high levels of toxins.

Judge Ridwan Damanik said evidence presented at the trial was insufficient to prove toxic pollution.

"We conclude that no pollution or environmental degradation took place in Buyat Bay and surrounding areas," he said on behalf of four other judges that heard the case. "We declare that the defendants be freed from all charges levelled by the prosecutors."

Newmont had always denied the charges, saying it disposed of toxins safely and levels of mercury and arsenic were within acceptable levels. It had warned a guilty verdict would prompt it to reconsider investing in Indonesia, which is trying to lure foreign firms and overcome an international reputation for corruption and bureaucratic red tape.

"This is positive. Investors will feel confident about the legal system in Indonesia and this is particularly important," said Priyo Pribadi, executive director of the Indonesian Mining Association.

The US embassy said the verdict "will undoubtedly have a beneficial effect on Indonesian and foreign investor confidence." Denver-based Newmont agreed last year to pay 30 million dollars in an out-of-court settlement in a civil lawsuit with the government over the waste.

That deal, in which Newmont did not admit wrongdoing, funds environmental monitoring in the bay area as well as projects aimed at health, education and infrastructure.
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