TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Government will file a lawsuit in the Central Jakarta District Court over the pollution in the Timor Sea, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), from the explosion of Montara oil refinery.
Arif Havas Oegroseno, an official of the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, told a press conference on Monday in Jakarta that government will demand accountability from PTT EP Australasia, the contractor of the oil field.
Havas said that the Thai-based company had failed to demonstrate good faith to address the issue.
It had ignored 13 lawsuits they had faced. Indonesia, Australia, and Thailand had formed a special team in 2013 to address the issue. The PTT EP, however, did not turn up to sign a memorandum of understanding on the interim settlement.
“We have had a meeting with the Australian Ambassador, we are going to file a lawsuit in Central Jakarta District Court early this year,” he said.
According to him, the environmental law holds that the Indonesian Government cannot file a lawsuit over pollution on behalf of the people.
Therefore, the government will do so on its own behalf to demand compensation.
NTT residents themselves had filed a class action against the company in Australia.
Moreover, Arif added that the Indonesian Government has urged the Australian Government to hold PTT EP accountable over the incident.
Australia’s support is key as the two countries have agreed to resolve the oil spill issue.
“We do not wish to hold the Australian Government accountable. Similar to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States did not file a lawsuit against the UK, it filed a lawsuit against the company instead,” he concluded.
The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on the same occasion that the government will seek legal recourse over the incident that took place in 2009.
ANTARA
