Protests Over 7% NNT Stake Turn Ugly Amid Negotiations
Faisal Maliki Baskoro & Fitri | April 18, 2011  Protests Over 7% NNT Stake Turn Ugly Amid NegotiationsTensions over a stake in Newmont Nusa Tenggara spilled into violence on Monday, leaving more than 20 people injured. (Bloomberg Photo/Claire Leow) Protests over the sale of shares in gold miner Newmont Nusa Tenggara turned violent on Monday, with clashes between civilians and police increasing tensions between the local and central governments.
Demonstrations broke out after the central government announced last week that it would buy a 7 percent stake in NNT that was also coveted by the West Sumbawa and West Nusa Tenggara administrations.
NNT's Batu Hijau gold and copper mine in Sumbawa has been the focal point of the protests. The local government has threatened to close the mine if it is not allowed to buy the divested shares, which are valued at $271.6 million.
West Sumbawa spokesman Najamuddin Amy said the regional government had not received official confirmation of the central government's purchase, "but we had heard the news, and that sparked the protests."
Thousands of people — including civil servants and regional lawmakers from West Sumbawa, students and local residents — erected a blockade on the access road to Batu Hijau. They demanded that the central government drop its plan to buy the shares and leave them to West Sumbawa.
Najamuddin insisted the protesters acted on their own and received no prompting from the West Sumbawa administration.
"This people's movement is far stronger than the provincial government. We hope this is enough to make Newmont change its mind and join with us," he said.
The scene turned ugly when protesters began throwing rocks at the 460 police officers who had been deployed to the mine to keep the peace.
According to one protester, Lahmuddin, 21 people were injured in the incident, 11 seriously.
West Sumbawa's police chief, Hadi Gunawan, said one of his officers was injured.
"Suddenly, the protest turned chaotic. Warning shots were fired, tear gas was thrown and water cannons pushed the protesters back," Lahmuddin said.
Hadi disputed that account. "The protesters started throwing rocks at us and things got out of control. We did not fire any shots," he said.
Tensions cooled when West Sumbawa's district head, Zulkifli Muhadli, told the protesters to cease, Hadi added. Police officers remained stationed at the mine to maintain order while regional lawmakers negotiated with NNT management.
Kamaruddin, the protest coordinator, said no deal was reached and several protesters remained at the site until late Monday evening. NNT spokesman Kasan Mulyono said production at the mine was unaffected by the clash.
David Lilley, NNT general manager, said the protests would hurt investment in Indonesia and "potentially reduce the amount of money the local, regional and central governments will receive from Batu Hijau."
"The regent's role is to uphold the law, ensure order and support economic development in the regency, not to create illegal blockades to shut down NNT's operations," Lilley said.
He said NNT would take all necessary precautions and legal action to protect its interests and recover all damages if the district did not deal with the roadblock.
Muhammad Zainul Majdi, governor of West Nusa Tenggara, reiterated on Monday his administration's intent to buy the disputed shares. The deadline for the share sale was Monday. |
