Walhi opposes plan to visit Buyat

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 10/26/2007 4:27 PM

JAKARTA: A panel of judges and a plaintiff were involved in a heated debate in the Buyat civil lawsuit Thursday over the judges' plans to visit the location next week.

The one-day trip on Nov. 9 trip would be financed by defendant PT. Newmont Minahasa Raya.

""We need to see it for ourselves, the Buyat bay and Newmont's facilities,"" presiding judge I Ketut Manika told a civil hearing court held at the South Jakarta District Court.

""And we need to see residents who were reported to suffer diseases from the hazardous waste.

""Then we will compare with all materials presented by both the plaintiff and defendant during the court hearing session,"" Manika said.

He also said he expected all related parties to attend the visit ""in order to connect the dots"".

Indonesian Environment Forum (Walhi) lawyer Firman Wijaya said his client would not join the trip because they considered they had all evidence needed in order to give comprehensive explanations to the judges.

Newmont's lawyer Luhut MP Pangaribuan said he supported the visit because it would provide further evidence for their case. -- JP/10

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