T

he National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has decried the government’s “protracted inaction” in dealing with 25 deaths at depleted coal mine pits in East Kalimantan that took place between 2011 and 2016.

Komnas HAM commissioner Roichatul Aswidah said Monday the government had neglected its foremost obligation to monitor mining activities in three regions in the province, including Kutai Kartanegara, North Penajam Paser and Samarinda.

Roichatul said both the central government and local administrations had turned a blind eye to those cases involving negligence by companies in restoring unused sites after 30 days without any mining activities, as stipulated in a 2010 governmental decree on reclamation and post-mining activity.

“The government is obliged to monitor their activities. As the party responsible for granting mining permits to companies, the government could revoke those permits if they are found to have disregarded their obligations as stipulated by law,” Roichatul told a press conference at her office on Monday.

According to data from Network for Mining Advocacy (Jatam) made available to The Jakarta Post, death cases took place in unrestored mining sites owned by 17 private companies. Three of these companies gained their mining permits from the central government, one obtained its permit from the provincial administration and the rest gained their permits from either the Samarinda Municipality or the Kutai Kartanegara and North Penajam Paser Regency.

Another Komnas HAM commissioner, Siti Noor Laila, said recalcitrant companies had violated a number of human rights, ranging from the right to life and the right to safety to the rights of children.

“Having visited the sites last week, we found that people living around depleted mining sites worried that they would possibly slip or sink into the pond because lots of these sites are located only 10 meters from their houses,” Siti said.

She also called the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to delve into the transparency of the details regarding guarantee payments by mining companies in those three regions. The 2010 governmental decree stipulates that a mining company is obliged to pay some amount of money to the government as a guarantee that they will restore their unused mining sites in the future.

“Have those companies paid their obligations from the outset? Currently, there is no transparency on that front,” she said.

Jatam executive director Merah Johansyah said the companies found to have neglected their obligations to restore their unused sites could be charged with criminal sentences.

East Kalimantan Police have named suspects in six cases involving deaths: Two cases occurred in Kutai Kartanegara and four in Samarinda. The police, however, have declined to disclose which companies are responsible for those cases, saying that “those responsible will flee” if their names are revealed to the media.