Church's votes ‘no’ to mining permits for religious organisations

Cardinal Suharyo expressed his opposition and environmentalists also criticised the decision of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who signed a decree-law a few days ago. The country's largest Islamic organisation, the Nahdlatul Ulama, on the other hand, has declared itself in favour.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Indonesia's Catholic Church has rejected President Joko Widodo's plan to allow religious organisations to manage mining deposits whose concessions have been withdrawn from companies.

Last week Jokowi - as the president is known at home - signed a decree to make the proposal official, as a gesture of appreciation for the contribution made by religious groups to Indonesia's struggle for independence, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said.

In 2022, the president, whose term will end in October, had announced that he would revoke a number of mining permits because the concessions were being developed too slowly. Bahlil said that religious organisations are given the opportunity to take over the concessions to improve the welfare of the community.

But religious organisations do not have the capacity for exploration and exploitation, nor the funds to propose mining investments.

Criticism has come from the Church and various groups in society, including environmentalists. ‘I don't know how or who others will respond to this issue presented by the president,’ Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta, said yesterday. ‘But the Indonesia Bishops’ Conference and the Indonesian Catholic Church will never accept the offer to manage mining projects because it is not the domain of the Church."

‘Our pastoral work in each archdiocese and within the Bishops’ Conference has always been very clear. And there has never been involvement in mining projects,' the cardinal added, addressing the media as he left the Jakarta office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The Semarang Catholic University Student Association (PMKRI) also issued a statement rejecting Jokowi's proposal.

On the other hand, the Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, commented that the change in the law would encourage religious groups to become more involved in the public sphere. ‘This law is a courageous step or forward to expand the use of state-controlled natural resources for the direct benefit of the people,’ Yahya Cholil Staquf, UN president-general, said in a statement on Monday.

According to the text approved by Jokowi, between 2024 and 2029, the central government will issue permits (called IUPK), particularly for coal mining, to the business entities of religious organisations. ‘These are two very different things,’ said Jokowi. ‘The IUPK will be granted not to religious-based organisations, but to their business entities.’

The failed management of mining projects has generated a lot of problems in Indonesia. Environmentalists claim that the wells pollute the environment causing health problems. There have often been conflicts with large companies that have appropriated land belonging to local people. And some children have died after falling into abandoned mine shafts.

UN Vice President Ahmad Suaedy acknowledged the criticism of activists concerned about the UN's inexperience in the mining sector, but stated that ‘irregularities can be committed by anyone’.

• Indonesia
• mining
• Church
• Jokowi