Hanoi - Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is facing a
second lawsuit over controversial bauxite mining projects, a lawyer
said Saturday.
'I, Cu Huy Ha Vu, have filed a lawsuit against PM Nguyen Tan Dung
on June 11 over his wrong decision to approve the mining plans to
Hanoi's People's Court, but the court said it was only authorized to
handle cases up to ministerial level, so I decided to re-sue him
before Vietnam's Supreme People's Court,' said Cu Huy Ha Vu, who
filed the lawsuit against Vietnamese prime minister on Friday.
In his petition to Vietnam's Supreme People's Court, Vu said Dung
had broken laws on environmental protection, national defence and
security as well as cultural heritage.
Vu asked the court to cancel the prime minister's decision on
bauxite projects in the central highlands of Vietnam.
The mining projects, run by the Chinese state aluminium company
Chalco, have provoked opposition on environmental and defence
grounds. Deputies in Vietnam's National Assembly sharply criticized
the mines earlier this month.
In January, revered retired-General Vo Nguyen Giap wrote to the
prime minister opposing the mines as a Chinese foothold in the
strategically crucial central highlands.
Other critics worry that runoff from the mines will damage the
local coffee and cacao industries and ecologically rich forests.
Vietnam's bauxite reserves are among the world's largest at an
estimated 8 billion tons.
Bauxite is extracted from open-pit mines, requiring the
replacement of topsoil before the land can be reforested or used for
agriculture. The refining process creates large amounts of caustic
red slurry, which must be contained so as not to pollute water
sources.
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