Indonesia’s armed forces chief yesterday dismissed a US federal court judge’s ruling that ExxonMobil must face a lawsuit over alleged killings and torture by troops in Aceh Province.
General Djoko Santoso said he was not even aware of the suit filed in the US by 11 villagers alleging atrocities took place in Aceh near the US oil giant’s Arun natural gas project in the early 2000s.
The suit accuses Exxon Mobil Corp and two of its US affiliates, Mobil Corp and ExxonMobil Oil Corp, and its Indonesian subsidiary, ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia (EMOI) of “killings and torture committed by military security forces protecting and paid for by EMOI,” a court document states.
US Judge Louis Oberdorfer ruled in Washington on Wednesday that the plaintiffs had provided “sufficient evidence, at this stage, for their allegations of serious abuse.”
Oberdorfer denied Exxon Mobil Corp’s and EMOI’s request to throw out the lawsuit, but he dismissed the suit for the group’s two US affiliates, Mobil Corp and ExxonMobil Oil Corp.
The lawsuit was filed in June 2001 by the 11 villagers, using pseudonyms.
Santoso, however, shrugged off the ruling.
“Until now I had no idea about that. If it’s true I’ve just learnt about it from you,” he told journalists.
He indicated that the matter did not concern the armed forces because they were not being sued.
“Just go ahead [and sue]. The one who will be sued is Exxon, right?” he said.
Aceh, which lies at the northern tip of Sumatra, saw nearly three decades of bloody conflict before the Indonesian government signed a peace pact with separatist rebels in August 2005.
ExxonMobil has argued that the lawsuit sets a dangerous precedent for US firms operating overseas and contravenes “well-established constitutional principle” that foreign affairs should not be handled by the courts. It says it does not condone human rights abuses.
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