Government ready to face Newmont's legal threat

State Minister of Environment Rachmat Witoelar said PT Newmont Minahasa Raya's plan to sue the government through the international arbitration court is something normal and fair in business activities, Investor Daily reported on Thursday.

"Please go ahead, and the government is ready to face if Newmont takes the case to the international arbitration court," the minister was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Speaking at hearing with members of the Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Wednesday, Witoelar said that under its contract of works, Newmont is obliged to abide all the Indonesian laws.

"As Newmont has violated the law, it is impossible for the international arbitration court to issue a decision in favor of the company," he added.

In the Buyat case, he said, Newmont had obviously violated the environment law. Under the article 21 of the law, throwing any object into the sea has been considered as a crime. "So, it is not only a matter of causing pollution," he added.

According to the investigation of the intergovernmental team, Newmont's undersea waste disposal in Buyat Bay located near the company's gold mine in Minahasa, North Sulawesi had caused pollution.

The team said Newmont had failed to effectively monitor the detoxification process of the tailings before they were dumped into the bay, resulting in high levels of metal substance particularly arsenic in the water around the tailing disposal area.

As part of the law enforcement against Newmont, the government would file both criminal and civic legal actions against the company, Witoelar said. "The criminal case against the company has been submitted to the court, while the civil case will be submitted on Feb. 15," he said.

Newmont has argued that the local court has not rights to settle its legal dispute with the government because under its contract of works clearly states that any dispute with the government should be settled through international arbitration court. (*)