It’s been high drama since Rai Coast residents went to trial on September 21, asking the court for a permanent injunction against a Chinese company’s plan to dump its mine and refinery waste into the sea. Since March, Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) has been under a temporary injunction that halted construction of a pipeline from its Rai Coast nickel and cobalt refinery into the Bismarck Sea. The company’s “deep sea tailings placement” plan has been criticized by scientists and coastal dwellers who say that the toxic waste could destroy one of the world’s most diverse marine ecosystems and undermine the health and livelihoods of the Indigenous Peoples who depend on it.
On the first day of the trial, the Rai Coast plaintiffs didn’t show up, and it was soon discovered that the mining company had “persuaded” them to abandon the case. Paid MCC thugs directly threatened the lives of the three men and their families. The company also sent threatening letters to local government authorities, warning of dire consequences if the communities blocked the “deep sea tailings placement” plan. The judge reprimanded paid MCC supporters for their outbursts in the courtroom and their disrespectful treatment of the absent plaintiffs’ lawyer Tiffany Nonggorr who, despite death threats, quickly found another plaintiff to carry on the case. Thirty-seven more people are seeking to join the suit.
The new plaintiff, Louis Medaing, a leader of the Tong and Ongeg clans, has reported threats against him and his clans since the day he filed his case, and on October 12 he sued MCC for contempt of court. “My family and clan members have been put under intense pressure by the mine owners…to discontinue the court case,” he said. Company representatives told him that if he proceeds with the trial, all Tong and Ongeg clan members employed by Ramu NCo Mangement Ltd will be fired.
The trial and the contempt hearings are temporarily delayed while lawyers on both sides adjust to the change in the plaintiffs. It’s not too late to send emails to Papua New Guinea authorities on behalf of the Rai Coast peoples and the coastal ecosystem! See our action alert.
View “Uprooted,” a series of four videos, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdTOBnwlhBA
