A direct appeal to Indonesian President Megawati has been made by the US Ambassador to Indonesia over the jailing of four employees of the Newmont mining company. The four executives were detained without charge five days ago over allegations of pollution causing serious health problems around the company's mine operations in Sulawesi. The case has thrown the community into a rare alliance with the police in its battle against the company.

Presenter/Interviewer: Karon Snowdon, Finance Correspondent

Speakers: Kasan Mulyono spokesperson Newmont Minahasa Mine; Dr Rignolda Djamaluddin from the community organisation Kelola

Snowdon: There have been reports over several years of serious health problems among local communities close to the Newmont Minahasa mine site at Buyat Bay in Sulawesi. The communities blame mercury and arsenic poisoning from the tailings waste dumped at sea.

The US based Newmont, one of the world's largest gold miners is one of only two companies to use an ocean outfall for the dumping of mine waste, its pipeline extends one kilometre from the shore to a depth of 80 metres.

Company spokesperson Kasan Mulyono says Newmont's environmental management has been sound and there are no health problems among the local people.

Mulyono: We believe that our operations have not done anything wrong with our environmental management and we believe there is no pollution in Buyat Bay waters. The water quality is good and the fish is good and fit for consumption and the people are healthy.

Snowdon: There have been numerous conflicting studies – Newmont's show metal concentrations in the Bay at acceptable levels, others show high levels of arsenic and mercury.

Dr Rignolda Djamaluddin is from the community organisation Kelola based in the regional capital Manado near the mine. He is not a medical doctor but as an agriculutral scientist has been monitoring the health of the 70 families living there. He says skin problems, serious headaches, lumps and paralysis have occured in significant numbers.

Rignolda: And later we found that quite significant numbers of kids in the villages have skin problems and some of them have very bad skin problems.

Snowdon: Dr Djamaluddin says the villages noticed large fish kills soon after the start of ocean dumping of the mine waste in 1996 with health problems appearing in 1998. The loss of fish means a loss of livelihood for the impoverished community.

Rignolda: Newmont has destroyed their own source of life. I mean the Bay.

Snowdon: The mine is closing this month after seven years of operation. For much of that period the community has sent its complaints with little response to authorities.

Indonesia's Environment department is waiting for the results from a Unites States laboratory of a series of recent tests before commenting. The environment minister Nabiel Makarim has been questioned by police over Newmont's record of compliance to environmental saftey standards. The minister was unavailable for comment.

The detention of four of Newmont's staff – an American, and Australian and two Indonesians is a surprising move as is the involvement of the Jakarta rather than the local police. More usually its the community leaders or their NGO supporters who are arrested.

The police are legally able to hold suspects for 20 days for questioning without laying charges.

The US Ambassador has complained of the detentions to outgoing president Megawati while Newmont says the treatment is unfair. Kasan Mulyono says the company is happy to cooperate with investigators.

Mulyono: We regret the detention, we are very concerned with that because by detaining our employees they cannot work and they cannot be with their family and its a very difficult time for them.

Apart from the police case, a compensation case for 500-million US dollars is planned with the help of a local NGO while Rignolda Djamaluddin says the communityb wants to relocate away from the Bay.

Rignolda: That's what they really need and now they ask the mine to provide them with the basic needs.

Snowdon: So they need assistance just with food and basic health services?

Rignolda: Yes. But even food? .... Yes.