REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUPANG -- Following a request from the polluter to halt the probe into the Montara oil spill, Head of West Timor Care Foundation Ferdi Tanoni said the case was beyond the political interest of ASEAN diplomacy.

"The oil spill (which contaminated Timor Sea in August 2009) concerns environmental and humanitarian issues," Tanoni stated in Kupang city, East Nusa Tenggara province.

Therefore, a request from Thailand-based PT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) and the Australian government to stop investigations into the crime was inappropriate, he remarked.

In 2010, the affected community living in the province, represented by the foundation, had handed over a "claim of research" document to the company and the neighboring country, Tanoni revealed.

However, PTTEP and Australia, according to Tanoni, refused to accept the document, because it would lead to a more extensive study of the areas affected by the spill.

"The contamination dispute was resolved by the Australian government, as the polluter had paid USD510,000 as penalty, after the trial found the company guilty of the oil spill," he noted.

In 2012, the company called on the foundation to submit its concept of the cooperation scheme over the oil spill.

Although PTTEP agreed to the terms proposed by the foundation, the company admitted it was still studying the documents.

"Up until now, the company has not yet taken any measures to resolve the dispute. Any research has only been conducted in the Australian territories, not in Indonesian waters," he reiterated, while adding that the company hired some researchers from the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) and an advocacy group to justify the claim that the oil spill had not affected the province's coastal areas.

"The action taken by the polluter was a systematic and coordinated crime, which was supported by some authorities in Indonesia. The studies released by the (IPB) researchers were falsified to legitimize the irresponsible behavior of the polluter," Tanoni pointed out.

Meanwhile, Thongsthorn Thavisin, PTTEP Chief Operating Officer Production Asset and Operations Support Group, maintained the company hoped the dispute could be immediately resolved.

Also read: Australia, Indonesia discuss Montara oil spill

PTTEP, according to Thavisin, was ready to provide any evidence on the Montara oil spill, because, he noted, the case had been closed by the Australian government.

"We took a few measures that had been requested by the Australian government," he said.

According to a report by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) in 2012, the company had admitted to being guilty during the Darwin Magistrate Trial and agreed to pay USD510,000 as penalty.

As part of the ASEAN, Indonesia and Thailand have a robust relation in the region.

"Hence, it would not be normal if there is a misunderstanding between the two countries," Thavisin remarked, while adding the company would like to invest in the oil and gas sectors.

However, the Maritime Sovereignty Coordination Deputy of Maritime Coordinating Ministry, Ariv Havas Oegroseno, stressed the Indonesian government would temporarily close any business agreements with PTTEP, as a fallout of the Montara oil spill dispute.

"We have sent a letter to state-owned oil company PT Pertamina to temporarily halt any cooperation with PTTEP, until it provides legal certainties toward the dispute," he said in May.

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