REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAYAPURA -- Chairman of the Papua Legislative Assembly Yunus Wonda said PT Freeport Indonesia should stop justifying all means in lobbying the government to renew its mining contract.

PT Freeport Indonesia, an Indonesian unit of the U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold, has large copper and gold mines in Papua.

"We ask Freeport not to use any means to have its contract renewed. It is clear that President Joko Widodo had indicated that decision (to terminate or renew the contract) would be made two years before the present contract expires," Yunus Wonda said here on Wednesday.

The present contract of Freeport would expire in 2021 , and based on a regulation, extension could be made in 2019 or two years before the termination of the present contract.

An attempt by Freeport to seek early extension of the contract has created a controversy and the controversy is worsened by Energy and Mineral Resource Minister Sudirman Said reporting Parliament Speaker Setya Novanto to the Honorary Council of the Parliament (MDK)accusing him of asking Freeport for a share in exchange of a guarantee that the contract would be extended.

A transcript from a non official meeting between Novanto and a senior leader of Freeport allegedly said Novanto has illegally used the names of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to convince Freeport.

Yunus said Freeport has drawn much attention to itself thanks to the scandal involving high state officials and the controversy.

He said Indonesia like any other countries in the world, has its norms and regulations to be complied with including by PT Freeport Indonesia.

"Please stop it. Freeport must abide by the country's regulation," he said, adding, "we must not allow ourselves to be set against each other for foreign interest."

He said President Joko Widodo has made it clear that regional (Papua) interest and national interest must be high in the agenda in negotiating contract extension.

"The final decision is made by the state not by Freeport," he added.

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