National

B3 Waste Meeting Falls Through
Thursday, 24 March, 2005 | 17:18 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:A planned meeting between Indonesia and Singapore with the Basle Convention Secretariat acting as facilitator has fallen through.
Initially, it was reported that the meeting to discuss settlement of the B3 waste from Singapore problem would be held at the Basle Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday (23/3).

“The meeting hasn’t taken place yet. More time is still needed,” explained Rahmat Witoelar, the Minister for the Environment, following a closed meeting between Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the ministry on Wednesday night (23/3).
The minister went on to say that this was because not all of the conditions from the Basle Convention Secretariat had yet been met.
According to Isa Karnisa, Deputy IV of the Environmental Impact from Institutional Sources Management Division at the ministry, the meeting did not take place because Singapore has not yet fulfilled the requirements requested by the Basle Convention Secretariat.
She said that there were six requirements that had to be fulfilled for the meeting to take place but she could not explain these in detail.
Isa explained: “I have forgotten exactly what they are. But Indonesia has already fulfilled them.”
Rahmat also said that as yet no definite date had been set for the next meeting.
According to him, the proposal to hold the meeting on March 23 and March 24 in Geneva came from Singapore.
Indonesia itself made a report about the B3 waste to the Basle Convention Secretariat in October last year.

Rinaldi D. Gultom - Tempo