Jayapura, Jubi – Member of the Papua Legislative Council John NR Gobai calls on the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) to be objective in looking at the reports from the indigenous people of Mimika in Central Papua Province regarding the impact the mining waste of PT Freeport Indonesia.
Gobai said recently he and representatives of the Mimika indigenous community met with Commission IV of the House of Representatives. They conveyed their aspirations regarding Freeport’s waste that is discharged into the river and causes siltation.
“I heard that three director generals of the KLHK have gone to Timika to meet Freeport’s management. They arrived in Timika on February 11 and plan to return today [February 13]. Hopefully, the KLHK will go to the area where the siltation occurs,” John NR Gobai told Jubi on Monday, February 13, 2023.
According to Gobai, who is the chairman of the Papua Legislative Council’s Special Group, if the KLHK team could get to the location where the siltation occurred, they would see the real situation firsthand. That way, the complaints and aspirations of the people there would be answered.
“But if they only arrive in Timika, it depends on who they meet. If they go to the siltation site, of course they will see and feel the problem themselves,” he said.
Previously, deputy chair of Commission IV of the House Anggia Erma Rini asked KLHK to follow up on public reports regarding environmental damage due to Freeport’s tailings. Anggia asked KLHK to immediately report on the follow-up no later than February 15, 2023. (*)
