Returning From Sydney, Two Key Witnesses To The Montara Oil Spill Dies

YPTB document, oil spill in the Timor Sea in 2009 ago. ANTARA/HO-YPTB

KUPANG - The West Timor Care Foundation (YPTB) which has been handling the Timor Sea pollution case in August 2009 said that two key witnesses to the Montara oil spill case died while the case was still ongoing.

"The two key witnesses died after returning from Sydney, after giving testimony in an Australian court. Both were Gabriel Mboeik II and Melkianus," said YPTB chairman Ferdi Tanoni, in Kupang, as reported by Antara, Friday, January 28.

He explained that in June 2019, more than 30 witnesses from seaweed farmers were brought to Sydney to testify in an Australian court. Among them were two victims who were key witnesses to the oil spill case.

The two key witnesses came from Rote Ndao, the southernmost district of the Republic of Indonesia, which has a direct sea border with Australia.

Ferdi explained that the two key witnesses were community leaders in the villages of Oelua and Oebua, who were two of the hundreds of victims and key witnesses of the Montara oil spill in August 2009.

When he was a witness in an Australian court, Gabriel Mboiek, said Ferdi, had said that when the Montara oil spill occurred and flowed to the seaweed cultivation site in Rote Ndao, the smell of the oil was very strong when the seaweed rope was lifted.

"He felt itchy on his body, and not only one seaweed farmer, but also almost all seaweed farmers in NTT," he said, quoting Mboiek.

Ferdi, who had directly inspected the condition of the affected seaweed farmers, admitted that the seaweed farmers showed terrible rashes and scars on their arms and other body parts. The seaweed farmers did not know where the oil flowing into their area came from. . They also do not know if the spilled oil is dangerous or not.

Furthermore, said Ferdi, in addition to the two key witnesses, based on the available data, there were more than 100 seaweed farmers who died as a result of the oil spill while waiting for legal certainty in the case.

"Of course there are hundreds of seaweed farmers who died waiting for the certainty of justice in the case. August this year is the 13th year in which the process of prosecution is still being carried out by seaweed farmers and fishermen in a number of affected areas in NTT," he said.

Ferdi also admitted that he would continue to struggle to voice this injustice to the Australian Government and also to the company that caused the oil spill, namely PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) Australasia whose parent company is PTTEP based in Bangkok, Thailand.