"It would be more appropriate for the government to nationalize the mining business licenses," chairman of the Indonesian Green Institute Chalid Muhammad said in a discussion on renegotiation of natural resources contracts here on Tuesday.
Chalid said that now was no longer an appropriate time to discuss renegotiation of the contracts because they were no longer contextual.
Chalid said if the contracts were renegotiated they would be just the same, as they would eventually be diverted from foreign firms to national firms where foreigners also owned shares.
He said that some of the shares of national firms turned out to be also controlled by foreign holders.
Therefore, Chalid who is a former director of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi), said that the fund obtained from contract renegotiation would neither be effective as it would not flow to the people.
He reminded that a number of state leaders had done nationalization at present such as Evo Morales(Bolivia), Lula da Silva (Brazil), and Hugo Chavez (Venezuela).
"They are fined with penalties and are not taken to the international arbitration," he said.
(Uu.A014/HAJM/S012)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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