JATAM | Mining Advocacy Network

Siti Maimunah, national coordinator of the Network for Mining Advocacy (Jatam), said the government needed to file a complaint with the Australian government immediately. 

“Environmental problems do not recognize administrative boundaries and the government must protect its citizens in [international] cases like this,” Siti said. 



 

The Montara oil well began spewing a reported 400 barrels of oil a day into the ocean on Aug. 21, creating an oil slick at least 100 times the size of Sydney Harbor. 

The well, which is operated by Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Australasia, is located 690 kilometers west of Darwin.

 



The government needed to file an official complaint with the Australian government to encourage the two countries to work together to resolve the problem, Siti said. 

“Our bilateral agreements with neighboring countries such as Australia, Papua New Guinea and other countries are mainly based on economic matters and never touch on the environmental implications of the exploitation of natural resources,” she said. 

“It is important that diplomatic approaches from the government lead to a better solution for these kinds of problems.”

 



The government should also consider ways to help local people cope with the impact of the oil spill, she said. 

Ilyas Asaad, the State Ministry of the Environment’s deputy for environmental compliance, said the two countries would deal with the oil spill and that Indonesia would not deal directly with PTTEP Australasia. 

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We are going to present technical data on how much this oil could affect our territorial waters, but any kind of agreement or discussion will be up to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Ilyas said. 

The Environment Ministry has gathered field information indicating that the oil has drifted into waters about 45 kilometers off Rote Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Ilyas said.

 



Teuku Faizasyah, a spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said representatives of the two countries had already met in Darwin to discuss the issue. 

He was unable to comment on the reports of oil off the East Nusa Tenggara coast. 

Partini Hardjokusumo, a provincial official in East Nusa Tenggara, on Friday said that the oil spill was already affecting Rote Island. 

“Fishermen in the Kolbano area have already noticed an impact,” Partini said. 

“Dead fish have been found in that area.”