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PT NMR TO AGGRESSIVELY DEFEND EMPLOYEES IN LIGHT OF SUPREME COURT ACTION
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Jakarta, 18 March 2005 – PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (PTNMR) plans to aggressively defend six of its employees despite reports of a legally flawed Supreme Court decision to overturn a writ of Habeas Corpus that found they were denied due process of law for alleged violations of environmental laws at a gold mine in North Sulawesi island.
"These men are innocent," said Luhut Pangaribuan in reference to the PT NMR executives, who have remained under a travel restriction since September. "The police investigation did not follow Indonesian law, and as a result these men have been unfairly victimized. They have done nothing wrong and we will continue to pursue the case to their full exoneration."
Five of the six employees were held in a police detention facility 32 days during September and October. PTNMR maintains neither they nor the company have broken environmental law, and that the Supreme Court has breached Article 45A of law number 5 of 2004.
"The ruling is unlawful because our law does not allow appeal over a pretrial verdict. This is a tragedy for the Indonesian judicial system" said Pangaribuan, who has authored legal reviews on Indonesian law. "Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan was quoted in media reports last year saying a decision in a pre-trial hearing could not be appealed. This would be a display of double standards."
"This kind of treatment of a company's employees sends an ominous message," Pangaribuan said. "Corporations will be wary of Indonesia if their employees are subject to arbitrary arrest, and the rule of law is not followed."
The six executives – David Sompie, Putra Widjayatri, Richard Ness, Phil Turner, Jerry Konjansow and Bill Long – include three Indonesians, an Australian and two Americans. They are presently under a one-year travel ban, and have been unable to leave the country since September 2004.
Several international studies, including one by the Indonesian environmental ministry, show that PTNMR mining operations have caused no harm to the environment or to the people living in the vicinity of Buyat Bay.
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