ID :
15555
Mon, 08/11/2008 - 19:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/15555
The shortlink copeid
GOVT URGED TO ACT AGAINST PT FREEPORT FOR POLLUTING MORE RIVERS
Jayapura, Aug. 11 (ANTARA) - The chief of a Papuan tribe in Mmika Barat Jauh , Kaimana district, West Papua, has urged the government to take action against giant mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia for having polluted rivers in the region by the tailings from its mining operations.
Fabianus P, chief of the Extended Kapiraya Tribe, told the press on Monday, so far, Indonesia and the world only knew that the company's tailings had polluted the Aijkwa River in Kaimana district causing a degradation in the local ecosystem, especially the region's forests.
But in reality, he said, the US gold and copper mining company had also polluted rivers in Kapiraya Mimika Barat Jauh and Mimika Tengah sub districts, including rivers in Teluk Etna and Poturawae sub districts.
The company's tailing pollutants were piling up on the coast of Teluk Etna (Etna Gulf) and Poturawae, and the forest ecosystem in southern Papua was also affected by the pollution.
The local village communities were now facing water shortages as their rivers were contaminated by the chemical pollutants from the company, he said.
Endemic crocodiles and tortoises of Teluk Etna are currently on the brink of extinction due to the pollution.
Therefore, he urged five ministers in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet to ask the company to account. The five ministers he meant are the health minister (for the water pollution), environment and forestry ministers (for the forest degradation), the marine and fisheries minister (for the marine degradation), and the energy and mineral resources minister (for the company's mining activities).
He also asked the government to demand that PT Freeport Indonesia provide CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funds to the indigenous people of Mimika Barat Tengah and Mimika Barat Jauh in Mimika District, as well as those in Teluk Etna and Putorowae in Kaimana District.
PT Freeport has so far provided funds only to the Kamoro-Amungme tribes in Mimika District.
Fabianus said he had hired a team of lawyers to file a law suit against PT Freeport Indonesia for the environmental degradation.
Fabianus P, chief of the Extended Kapiraya Tribe, told the press on Monday, so far, Indonesia and the world only knew that the company's tailings had polluted the Aijkwa River in Kaimana district causing a degradation in the local ecosystem, especially the region's forests.
But in reality, he said, the US gold and copper mining company had also polluted rivers in Kapiraya Mimika Barat Jauh and Mimika Tengah sub districts, including rivers in Teluk Etna and Poturawae sub districts.
The company's tailing pollutants were piling up on the coast of Teluk Etna (Etna Gulf) and Poturawae, and the forest ecosystem in southern Papua was also affected by the pollution.
The local village communities were now facing water shortages as their rivers were contaminated by the chemical pollutants from the company, he said.
Endemic crocodiles and tortoises of Teluk Etna are currently on the brink of extinction due to the pollution.
Therefore, he urged five ministers in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet to ask the company to account. The five ministers he meant are the health minister (for the water pollution), environment and forestry ministers (for the forest degradation), the marine and fisheries minister (for the marine degradation), and the energy and mineral resources minister (for the company's mining activities).
He also asked the government to demand that PT Freeport Indonesia provide CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funds to the indigenous people of Mimika Barat Tengah and Mimika Barat Jauh in Mimika District, as well as those in Teluk Etna and Putorowae in Kaimana District.
PT Freeport has so far provided funds only to the Kamoro-Amungme tribes in Mimika District.
Fabianus said he had hired a team of lawyers to file a law suit against PT Freeport Indonesia for the environmental degradation.
