TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Some 13,000 seaweed farmers in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) seek the government's help in their class action lawsuit against the PTTEP Australasia at the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney, an international law expert at Nusa Cendana University (Undana) Kupang DW Tadeus said. Tadeus said the government can revoke operational permit and freeze the assets of the Thailand-based oil company in Indonesia.
The government can also cancel the 1997 agreement between Indonesia and Australia. "It can be cancelled since it has not been ratified by the two countries' parliaments," Tadeus said on Monday, August 29, 2016.
A class action has been filed following the explosion of Montara oil rig in the Timor waters on August 21, 2009. Local fishermen and seaweed farmers have suffered due to Timor waters pollution.
Advocacy support has been provided to fishermen and seaweed farmers by Yayasan Peduli Timor Barat (YPTB) led by Ferdi Tanoni. The case was registered on August 3, 2016, at the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney and the first trial was held on August 22, 2016.
According to Tadeus, the case is an important lesson for Indonesia, because Timor waters are home to a lot of oil companies. "Marine areas must also be preserved, because similar cases to that of Montara could also happen in the future," Tadeus said.
The oil spill has destroyed people's seaweed farming in East Nusa Tenggara coastal area, such as in the south of Timor Island, Rote Ndao, Alor, Sabu Raijua, Sumba and part of Flores and Lembata. Fish production has declined sharply which has led around 70 percent fishermen in Oesapa to leave Kupang and seek new waters in Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumatra. The Indonesian government, however, has yet to make any response.
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