When you see an inverted U-shaped curve for investment growth for a country, it is a clear sign of economic trouble. And you think “….it is the worst of times….” And that is indeed what you see for Indonesia.

Investment and environment is the pair of issues that I want to focus on in this blog. Dear Investor, I know you’re watching this case just about as much as I am and have never really yet addressed anything in this blog to you. So I thought I would dedicate some time to share with you some of my thoughts as well as what others have been saying about how this case could impact the investment climate in Indonesia.

And as shown in the chart, the timing of the Buyat case when it broke in the third quarter of 2004 coincided with the tipping point that initiated the downward slide for investment which has now culminated into a situation of negative growth rate in 2006. The chart is not meant to show that the Buyat issue caused the decline. But the chart definitely shows that the Buyat controversy embodies all the signs of a failing legal system that is keeping the investors away from Indonesia.

My Dad has just informed me that the date of the verdict will likely be postponed from April 4th to April 18th. However, at this time there is no official notification from the court. I expect we will get a confirmation here shortly.

UPDATE:
"Chief Judge Ridwan Damanik said the judges needed more time to draw up the verdict.

"It takes time to compile opinion from five judges into a verdict. But I think the verdict can be read out on April 18," Damanik told Reuters by phone from Manado.

"The case is sensitive because we are trying foreign parties. We don't want to rush things as it could become a problem," he said."
- Source: Reuters

By filing the law suit against PTNMR yesterday, WALHI has completed its mutation into a full-fledged political organization. Clearly the time has come for the Friends of the Earth to disassociate its affiliation with WALHI.

It is truly astounding that WALHI would file a law suit on exactly the same issues as the ongoing Buyat’s criminal case when the verdict is expected in just two weeks on the 4th of April, 2007. It shows the unstoppable emotion of WALHI to blatantly interfere with the judicial process of Indonesia’s legal system. And this begs the question: Is WALHI still an environmental NGO?

Given the timing of their law suit, WALHI has also confirmed to the world that they are against the principles of rule of law, ethics and responsible behavior. And WALHI has made it transparent to everyone that they don’t practice what they preach to others. They obviously have a double standard.

Well, it’s getting close to the end. My Dad finished presenting his final arguments on March 14th, and the Judges have said that they will render their verdict on Wednesday, April 4th.

First, my family and I really want to thank everyone who has been part of my Dad’s defense: Luhut M.P Pangaribuan, Hafzan Tahir, Palmer S., Olga, H.J.J Mangindaan, Mochamad Kasmali, Nira S Nazarruddin for their outstanding work and legal counsel. David Sompie, Putra Widjayatri, Phil Turner, Bill Long and Jerry Konjansow for their unwavering support. Ali Sahami, Shakeb Afsah, Pretty Mamonto, Mark Wielga, Todung Mulia Lubis and Arief T. Surowidjojo for their wise technical guidance. We would also like to thank Wayne Murdy, Blake Rhodes and every single Newmont employee who has worked directly on this case, or supported and wished us well throughout this ordeal. And I am obviously missing a number of people who should be named here but, rest assured my family and I are deeply indebted to all of you.

The Essence of this Trial

Before I elaborate on some of the finer details of the events transpiring in the final round of arguments, there are about three things that really summarize how I feel about this case. First, the Prosecution has intensified misquoting witnesses and fabricating lies. Second, they’ve gone back to their old tactic of applying the wrong standards to data (surface water standards to sea water) and are again trying to mislead the court. Third, they are still relying on the testimony of Mr. Muladi, a witness who never returned to court to complete his hearing. The persistence of the Prosecutors to use inappropriate information and come down to repeatedly using lies is indeed a noticeable action.

Last week I finally had the opportunity to sit in court with my Dad in Manado and hear the presentation of the Replik by the Prosecutors. It was an interesting experience. As a son, it is extremely difficult to sit through and watch the prosecution fudge the “facts” when your Dad is potentially facing a 3 year sentence but, all that is for another blog.

Anyway, what I really wanted to write about today is my trip to Buyat Bay. Buyat Bay is about a four hour drive south west of Manado and it is beautiful. I wanted to go for essentially two reasons: first, I wanted to go and check Buyat Bay out for myself and second, my Dad and Jerry Konjansow wanted to take me diving in the bay.

Yesterday, my Dad completed the presentation of his pledoi (English | Bahasa) to the court. Even though the written arguments were more than 300 pages long, the court and the audience were riveted by his arguments, and the presentation of video clips of past witnesses had quite an impact.

Now the whole world can’t help but know that there is no pollution in Buyat Bay. With this last pledoi (English | Bahasa), my Dad has steered the discussion of the Buyat Bay controversy in a new direction- one that is of immense policy importance. In the conclusion of his presentation, my Dad asked the court to look into the illegal acts of many individuals who manipulated the public and the Government into pursuing this case. Some of these individuals were funded by politicians, and some of them are from prominent NGOs in Indonesia. My Dad appealed to court and the public to hold these individuals accountable, as their actions have caused considerable waste of resources, emotional pain and economic hardship.

The question “Is Buyat Bay polluted?” has been answered—there is no pollution in Buyat, and the legal and technical facts provide definitive proof of this conclusion. The question that remains unanswered is why did some public officials and members of NGOs behave irresponsibly and unethically, and resort to pure lies (not exaggerations) to create this case. Who is going to hold them accountable? These persons have clearly undermined the legitimacy of NGOs and public agencies, and that is a major blow to the process of institutional development and governance in a fledgling democracy like Indonesia.

Please read the rest of the blog entry

On 23-Jan-07 in Manado my Dad read out his written arguments to the court. His written pleading comes one week after his lawyers presented the legal arguments in Pledoi 1& 2 from 9-11 Jan-2007.

The focus of Dad’s pledoi is not on legal and scientific facts but on personal aspects that highlight some of the unbelievable possibilities about human behavior and their manipulations. His pledoi uses pure logic and common sense to prove that no crime was committed and that Buyat Bay is clean. He argues that this whole case is a sham, and the Police and the prosecution simply failed follow their own laws.

The opening remarks of his presentation had a strong impact on the court, and it reaffirmed that this case has been utterly unfair to my Dad. I have attached these opening remarks (Bahasa and English) in this blog.

Please read the rest of the blog entry

As I mentioned in my previous blog I was going to release a number of documents after they are submitted and read in court. The main document I am posting today is the Bahasa version of the Pledoi 1 (the English will probably be put up tomorrow). As I mentioned yesterday, the Pledoi is a written document that refutes the charges being presented by the Prosecution. It should also be noted that in total there will be three Pledois submitted to court. This first Pledoi is written with PT NMR the Defendant.

I’m also posting a number of other documents my father has sent me, namely slide summaries of the Pledoi arguments and Newmont Press releases regarding the court hearing.

Pledoi 1 - PT NMR as Defendant

Pledoi Slides – English
Pledoi Slides – Bahasa Indonesia

PTNMR Press Release – English
PTNMR Press Release – Bahasa Indonesia