Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 10/20/2008 11:21 AM | National
Challenges await 11 Acehnese villagers who have succeeded in bringing giant company ExxonMobil Corp. to a U.S. Federal Court, with the judge handling the case resigning from his post amid fears that revealing their identities might endanger their lives.
Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) chairman Rafendi Djamin said Friday the plaintiffs were entitled to protection from the government as soon as they revealed their identities in court. The 11 Acehneses are currently hiding their identities under the names of John Doe I to John Doe XI.
"As the trial starts, the public would find out their identities. This would endanger them as they could become a target of certain people," Rafendi told The Jakarta Post.
"There are fears there will be some efforts to silence them, either through abuses or offering them reconciliation. In some human rights abuse cases, the victims were asked to withdraw their claims and offered (material) things in return," he added.
The 11 Acehnese plaintiffs filed a pretrial motion against ExxonMobil to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in June 2001. They accused the company of supporting the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s alleged kidnappings, killings and torture in Aceh.
In their motion, they have said the company was responsible for hiring security guards from the ranks of the TNI to provide security at ExxonMobil's natural gas facility in Indonesia, in spite of the soldiers' well-documented history of abusing Indonesian citizens.
The motion was filed under the Alien Torts Claim Act (ATCA), which enables U.S. courts to try any U.S. company accused of perpetrating human rights abuses outside the country.
On Aug. 27, 2008 the court's Judge Louis Oberdorfer ruled to proceed with the trial, saying the 11 Acehnese plaintiffs had provided "sufficient evidence, at this stage, for their allegations of serious abuse".
Oberdorfer denied a motion for summary judgment from Exxon Mobil Corp. and its Indonesian subsidiary ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia (EMOI).
The trial is expected to start by the end of this year or early next year, according to HRWG.
However, another hurdle might block the way with Judge Oberdorfer resigning from his post.
"This means there will be a new judge, who might have to study this case from the beginning. And we don't know yet whether the new judge shares the same views with Oberdorfer," Rafendi said on the sidelines of the HRWG launching of the case report.
Rafendi asked the government to pay attention to the case, particularly to the protection issue.
"The Foreign Ministry is responsible for accompanying and protecting the plaintiffs while going through the trial sessions," he said, adding the newly established Witness Protection Program Institute (LPSK) should also make a move on this.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said it was still far from the moment to talk about the protection issue, because the government itself still could not accept the extra-territorial jurisdiction aspect in this case.
"Basically, we can't agree to the trial because it has gone outside our country's jurisdiction," he said.
Moreover, "Because the trial is in the U.S., the plaintiffs would get the protection from the local court and authorities."
"The government is surely responsible to protect its citizens abroad, but we should also consider our office's resources there," Teuku added.
EMOI spokeswoman Deva Rachman had previously dismissed all allegations against the company, saying the case was baseless as EMOI condemned all human rights abuses.
"We're just an operator of state facilities. The state, in this case the Indonesian government, has the authority to guard its own strategic assets. All along, we have always shared everything we do with the government," she said.
The National Commission on Human Rights deputy chairman Ridha Saleh said the Exxon case would serve as a reference for the commission in determining its next steps against human rights cases in Aceh.
"We already established a special team to study human rights abuses in military operation areas in Aceh. The team will finish studying next month, and this (the U.S. court ruling) would contribute to our final result," Ridha said in the same discussion.
Challenges await 11 Acehnese villagers who have succeeded in bringing giant company ExxonMobil Corp. to a U.S. Federal Court, with the judge handling the case resigning from his post amid fears that revealing their identities might endanger their lives.
Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) chairman Rafendi Djamin said Friday the plaintiffs were entitled to protection from the government as soon as they revealed their identities in court. The 11 Acehneses are currently hiding their identities under the names of John Doe I to John Doe XI.
"As the trial starts, the public would find out their identities. This would endanger them as they could become a target of certain people," Rafendi told The Jakarta Post.
"There are fears there will be some efforts to silence them, either through abuses or offering them reconciliation. In some human rights abuse cases, the victims were asked to withdraw their claims and offered (material) things in return," he added.
The 11 Acehnese plaintiffs filed a pretrial motion against ExxonMobil to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in June 2001. They accused the company of supporting the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s alleged kidnappings, killings and torture in Aceh.
In their motion, they have said the company was responsible for hiring security guards from the ranks of the TNI to provide security at ExxonMobil's natural gas facility in Indonesia, in spite of the soldiers' well-documented history of abusing Indonesian citizens.
The motion was filed under the Alien Torts Claim Act (ATCA), which enables U.S. courts to try any U.S. company accused of perpetrating human rights abuses outside the country.
On Aug. 27, 2008 the court's Judge Louis Oberdorfer ruled to proceed with the trial, saying the 11 Acehnese plaintiffs had provided "sufficient evidence, at this stage, for their allegations of serious abuse".
Oberdorfer denied a motion for summary judgment from Exxon Mobil Corp. and its Indonesian subsidiary ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia (EMOI).
The trial is expected to start by the end of this year or early next year, according to HRWG.
However, another hurdle might block the way with Judge Oberdorfer resigning from his post.
"This means there will be a new judge, who might have to study this case from the beginning. And we don't know yet whether the new judge shares the same views with Oberdorfer," Rafendi said on the sidelines of the HRWG launching of the case report.
Rafendi asked the government to pay attention to the case, particularly to the protection issue.
"The Foreign Ministry is responsible for accompanying and protecting the plaintiffs while going through the trial sessions," he said, adding the newly established Witness Protection Program Institute (LPSK) should also make a move on this.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said it was still far from the moment to talk about the protection issue, because the government itself still could not accept the extra-territorial jurisdiction aspect in this case.
"Basically, we can't agree to the trial because it has gone outside our country's jurisdiction," he said.
Moreover, "Because the trial is in the U.S., the plaintiffs would get the protection from the local court and authorities."
"The government is surely responsible to protect its citizens abroad, but we should also consider our office's resources there," Teuku added.
EMOI spokeswoman Deva Rachman had previously dismissed all allegations against the company, saying the case was baseless as EMOI condemned all human rights abuses.
"We're just an operator of state facilities. The state, in this case the Indonesian government, has the authority to guard its own strategic assets. All along, we have always shared everything we do with the government," she said.
The National Commission on Human Rights deputy chairman Ridha Saleh said the Exxon case would serve as a reference for the commission in determining its next steps against human rights cases in Aceh.
"We already established a special team to study human rights abuses in military operation areas in Aceh. The team will finish studying next month, and this (the U.S. court ruling) would contribute to our final result," Ridha said in the same discussion.
