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his refers to '€œSeveral mining contracts left in limbo,'€ (The Jakarta Post, July 18).

I refer to a statement made by Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung, who called on Newmont to withdraw the lawsuit or face the consequences. He said the renegotiation of Newmont'€™s mining contract would only be resumed if the company withdrew its legal appeal.

In my opinion, Newmont is determined to go through with the arbitration of their case with the government because they have realized that there is nothing more on the table for a win-win conclusion after endless number of meetings.

The big question for the government is: Does it want to defend its case in the arbitration court? If it loses, the government will have to pay a fine or damages or both, a double whammy, which no new government will be happy to deal with.

Mind you, it has lost one case already '€” another one will be a mocking shame? SBY has already urged the ministry '€œto prepare'€ itself for the case!

Next scenario (before the arbitration case comes up) Newmont may wish to stop their entire operations.

This must not be the attitude to be displayed per se as the duty of any ministry is to assist and serve all types of ongoing businesses within the country '€” always resisting the use of threatening words like '€œharsh consequences'€, which is totally uncalled for.

In short, you do not need to tell them when to close shop '€” they can decide themselves. They have been operating for many years in this country '€” longer than any of the present ministers and officials; hence, caution must be exercised here in case protests, like the one in Mataram on June 17, occur.

Finally, if hard headedness rules, I like to repeat my statement made on July 9, 2014: '€œIt is cheaper than paying Rp 1 billion [US$84,727] for a smelter by any stretch of THE imagination. If that happens, please tell the whole country how much each ministry stands to gain from it: Billions of dollars or a big zero?'€ See the Post'€™s article: '€œGovt prioritizes negotiation to resolve disputes with Newmont'€ dated July 8, 2014.

This case is not about a fight with A, B or C incorporated to see who wins. The government, has the responsibility to '€œdeliver'€, ensuring that its citizens are assured of jobs, taken care of, achieve good returns in trade and exports, etc. Care to bear this in mind when future meetings are prioritized?

Luwanto
Jakarta