US firm sues Rio Tinto http://finance.news.com.au/0,3546,1176349%255E462,00.html By John Phaceas 08sep00 RIO Tinto has slammed an Ok Tedi-style class action over alleged human rights abuses and environmental damage at its now closed Panguna copper mine on Bougainville Island as "without foundation". Under an obscure US law, Seattle-based lawyer Steven Berman yesterday filed a class action in the US District Court of San Francisco on behalf of villagers adversely affected by the mine and the 10-year civil war which followed its closure in 1989. The action alleges mining and processing operations destroyed the environment of the island, and subsequently the traditional livelihoods of local people. The suit also alleges Rio "stepped in and assisted" PNG troops fighting the rebels, including the provision of helicopters, turning the PNG army "into their private police force". But Rio dismissed all allegations outright. "We categorically reject all allegations of human rights abuses and environmental damage on Bougainville," a Rio spokesman said yesterday. "And our view is that this issue should be resolved in PNG, not in a foreign court by foreign lawyers running the case on a contingency basis." Asked whether Rio had ever assisted PNG troops in any way, the spokesman said "absolutely not � and Bougainville Copper never even had any helicopters". Rio subsidiary Bougainville Copper operated the Panguna mine from 1972 until 1989, when attacks from Bougainvillean rebels seeking independence from PNG forced it to evacuate and abandon what was then the world's biggest open-pit mine. Until a UN-backed ceasefire was implemented last year, the PNG Government continued to actively engage the secessionist Bougainville Revolutionary Army. The suit claims the war resulted in the deaths of at least 25,000 Bougainvillean civilians. Mr Berman filed the action under the US Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows foreign nationals to sue US companies alleged to have violated international law. Though Rio is headquartered in London, the Borax subsidiary is registered in California. Mr Berman claimed a fair trial in PNG would be impossible, while courts in Australia and the UK do not recognise such cases. Mr Berman will be assisted by Melbourne-based Slater & Gordon, now suing BHP for the second time over damage caused by its Ok Tedi copper mine in PNG. Rio is expected to argue US courts have no jurisdiction in the matter. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
