Walhi Withdraw From Arbitration With Pt Kelian Equatorial Mining/Rio Tinto

Walhi Withdraw From Arbitration With Pt Kelian Equatorial Mining/Rio Tinto

After year of being patience towards the breach of June 29th -30th 1998 agreement by PT. Kelian Equatorial Mining (PT. KEM)/Rio Tinto in Samarinda, starting today, WALHI withdraw from process of negotiation and is no longer bind to the agreements.

Since June 1998, Walhi had agreed to facilitate the community organized under LKMTL to negotiate with PT. KEM in regards to land compensation, human rights violation, and environmental destruction. After few agreement being implemented, PT. KEM since June 1999 have explicitly breached the agreements, not only that, they have also started to make a new agreement with new groups other than LKMTL. Lately, PT. KEM manuvered to settle the human rights violations through traditional customs without consulting with LKMTL according to June 1998 and May 17th-18th, 2000 agreement.

PT. KEM obviously does not have a good will to settle the cases openly and transparently and prefers to deal discreetly in collusion with the government but under mining the local community.

PT. KEM is a gold mining foreign investment company in Kelian, East Kalimantan with majority share (90%) belongs to Rio Tinto, the world largest mining company based in England. The company started to operate in Kelian since 1992 and have the contract of work expire in year 2004.

Negotiation with the community took place after a long struggle against violation and abuse of human rights by PT. KEM since the day of their arrival at the area. Rio Tinto did not just take away the land, but more they seized the Kelian community's future especially those of the traditional miners. In seizing the land, Rio Tinto burned the houses, demolished traditional mining equipments, propely the community by way of torchy, systematical sexual harassment and torture.

After years of fighting for the aspirations to be heard without any results, since accompanied by Walhi and other Indonesian and International non-governmental organizations and through International campaign by NGO of Australia and Europe, in June 29th -30th 1998, a month after the downfall of Suharto, Rio Tinto showed a good intention by agreeing to negotiate on the demands of local community, and will negotiate with only one community representative organization. Following the agreement, the Kelian's held a mass gathering (Berinug) which was attended by more than two thousands of its members. In the meeting, it was decided to establish a new organization and named as LKMTL. This organization was given a mandate as the sole representative of Kelian's community to negotiate with PT. KEM/ Rio Tinto.

Since then many negotiations that has absorbed a lot of energy, concentration and material of the Kelian community's have taken place. How unfortunate that this excellent process failed to continue since the President Director of PT. KEM, Alan Roberts, were transfered to PNG in unexpected way. For more then six months, since July 1999, the acting president director of PT. KEM was Ian Anderson who implemented an opposite course from Alan Roberts. These had caused the negotiation to stop, with no follow up on the steps that have been agreed, even worse Ian Anderson orchestrated his own agenda by conducting a discreet meeting with certain groups of community other then LKMTL, and impaired, damaged, slandered and intimidated towards the prominent leader of LKMTL.

Alan Roberts successor, John Vale apparently did not have the intention to continue the accord that had been reach, and formalized another team as another community representative together with some head of villages, chief of the community and supported by the head of districts, the team called Tim Murni. Effort to divide the community and deteriorate the prominent leader of LKMTL continues, and strongly encourage by the PT KEM management.

Due to high tension in community, including road blockade, LKMTL forced to accept the existence of Tim Murni only to negotiate on land compensation. For other issues such as human rights violations, sexual abuse, and environmental destruction, LKMTL still the sole representative of community (Agreement May 17th -18th , 2000)

Unfortunately PT. KEM continues to breach the accord, and at this moment PT. KEM distributed the plan to settle the human right issue through adat, without consulting LKMTL. We, WALHI, refused to accept the plan and condone such an act by PT. KEM because this deviate from the accord that have been agreed upon between LKMTL and PT. KEM.

Observing this situation, we belief that PT. KEM/Rio Tinto does not have good will to proceed the accord of June 29th - 30th , 1998 in which provide better bargaining position to the Kelian community. PT. KEM prefers to negotiate with community with no legal counsel as provided by NGO's, so that they can profited in large sum. The community of Kelian have compromised and tolerated PT. KEM/ Rio Tinto, but PT KEM/Rio Tinto return the favor with un-ethical ways, slender, and deception.

This situation disadvantage the Indonesians who face the same problem in other mining areas with other mining company's. This condition will not give benefits to the Indonesia's economic reconstruction effort.

We have tried to contribute to the solution of natural resources conflict in this case on mining. Nonetheless our effort being sabotaged by certain groups who do not want the effort to succeed. Nevertheless, we will not quit, we will continue through more effective ways.

We, WALHI will continue to facilitate the LKMTL, while for environmental issue, we will fight in other way.

Jakarta October 13th , 2000

Emmy Hafild

Director

For more information, please contact:

Igor O'Neill


Workphone: +62 21 794 1672
Mobile: +62 81 286 12 286

Created: 29 Jun 2004 | Last updated: 29 Oct 2000

This page: http://www.mpi.org.au/ campaigns/rights/Walhi_withdraw_from_negotiation/

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