FREEPORT-McMoRan INC. AND FREEPORT-McMoRan COPPER & GOLD RESPOND TO LAWSUIT.NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 1996--In response to the filing today of a frivolous and opportunistic lawsuit involving allegations of environmental, human rights, and social/cultural violations, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX FCX French Connexion (gaming site) FCX Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (stock symbol) FCX Fuel Cell Experiment (Honda) FCX Fire Coordination Exercise FCX Fire Control Exercise ) and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FTX (Fault Tolerant UNIX) Stratus Computer's version of Unix System V for its XA/R fault tolerant computer systems. See also FTTx. (operating system) FTX - Stratus' Unix operating system. ) state that there is no basis in law or in fact for these claims. Further, this filing is an obvious publicity ploy in conjunction with the companies' upcoming annual shareholder meetings to direct attention away from the recent positive environmental audit of FCX's Indonesian operations and the reinstatement of FCX's Overseas Private Investment Corporation political risk insurance. The allegations in the lawsuit appear to be the same as those that have been raised in the public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most smear campaign smear campaign n → campaña de calumnias smear campaign n → campagne f de dénigrement smear campaign smear n against FCX by special interest groups over the past year. These allegations have been refuted by a series of independent examinations of the environmental, human rights and social/cultural impact of FCX's operations in Indonesia. These examinations include an audit report by Dames & Moore, an international environmental consulting Environmental consulting is often a form of compliance consulting, in which the consultant ensures that the client maintains an appropriate measure of compliance with environmental regulations. firm, and a report by Komnas Ham, the Human Rights Commission of Indonesia, that did not implicate im·pli·cate tr.v. im·pli·cat·ed, im·pli·cat·ing, im·pli·cates 1. To involve or connect intimately or incriminatingly: evidence that implicates others in the plot. 2. FCX's employees in human rights violations in Irian Jaya, which is consistent with conclusions reached independently by the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and others who have objectively reviewed the situation. In conclusion, FCX and FTX are confident that the charges will be exposed to be without merit on the same basis as they have been in prior examinations. CONTACT: Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., New Orleans Craig E. Saporito, 504/582-4476 Chris D. Sammons, 504/582-4474 |
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