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House will support government in dispute with Freeport: Legislator
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Freeport's Grasberg mine in Mimika, Papua. (JP/Nethy Dharma Somba)
T
he House of Representatives will support the government if PT Freeport McMoran goes to an international arbitration tribunal to end the dispute over the contract agreement for its operations in Papua, a legislator has said.
Satya Widya Yudha, the deputy chairman of House Commission VII overseeing mining affairs, said the government should not be worried about Freeport’s possible move.
“The company should not have used lay-offs as an issue. The interests of workers should not be pitted against the government,” he said as reported by kompas.com on Sunday.
(Read also: Freeport Indonesia chief resigns as dispute over mining policy intensifies)
Previously, in response to Freeport’s plan to go to an international arbitration tribunal, Energy and Mining Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said the government was ready to face the tribunal, saying that “such a move is better than exploiting worker lay-offs.”
Satya said Indonesia had experience at such tribunals and had won a dispute at an arbitration tribunal against mining company PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara.
He admitted that the dispute would have an economic and social impact because it might disrupt the operation of the mine. However, he said Indonesia must confront the challenge in order to enforce its laws and regulations.
Freeport said it would only agree to convert its contract of work (CoW) to a special mining license if it secured a guarantee from the government on the firm’s long-term investment stability, including fiscal and legal certainty as already stipulated in the CoW signed in 1991. (bbn)
