NGO to sue Indo Muro Kencana
Monday, March 20 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
The Bina Sumber Daya foundation planned to sue Indo Muro Kencana (IMK), a subsidiary of Australian firm Aurora Gold, which operates a gold mine in Central Kalimantan, in the Jakarta District Court over land dispute, Kapos daily reported.
The paper quoted the NGO's head Adnreas NJ Udang as saying on Sunday hat the foundation had prepared 30 top local and national lawyers to represent it and the villagers whose land had been allegedly appropriated by the mining company without full compensation.
Andreas refused to reveal when he would file the suit.
The lawsuit plan came amid growing tension between the villagers who oppose the operation of Indo Muro and those who support it.
Thousands of villagers had been occupying parts of the company's concession since mid-last year, claiming the land belonged to their ancestors and demanded the company to leave the area.
Many villagers living around the gold mine however supported the operation of the gold mine and have tried to gain back the occupied land.
Andreas described IMK and its supporters as "cowards", calling on them to settle the dispute in court.
Meanwhile, governor Asmawi Agani told the paper that Indo Muro had agreed to release 15,519 hectares of its concession for the mining activities of the local people in a bid to solve the protracted dispute.
According to the governor, the company was also ready to provide technology to support the people's mining activities. (*)