Sydney (AFP)

Anglo-Australian giant Rio Tinto is accused of shirking its responsibilities in cleaning up toxic waste from the gigantic Panguna mine, on the Papua island of Bougainville, in a complaint filed Tuesday in Australia.

This lawsuit was initiated by the Human Rights Law Center in Melbourne on behalf of more than 150 residents of Bougainville.

It constitutes a new setback for the mining group which aroused the stir in Australia for having destroyed in May an old aboriginal site.

The plaintiffs claim that the Panguna mine, which was at the heart of the bloody civil war in Bougainville in the 1980s and 1990s, continues to pollute nearby waterways, more than three decades after its closure.

"Our rivers are poisoned by copper, our houses are invaded by dust emanating from mounds of residue, our children are getting sick from pollution," Theonila Roka Matbob, member of the local Parliament, denounced in a statement.

Panguna, which was once the largest open-pit copper mine in the world, alone accounted for up to 40% of Papua's exports.

It was in operation from 1972 to 1989.

The environmental damage caused by the mining activity and the lack of financial benefits was the cause of strong protests among the population.

The claims concerning this mine had provoked the first clashes between the army and secessionist rebels.

The civil war that followed killed 20,000 people, and as such remains the bloodiest conflict in the Pacific since World War II.

A cease-fire was reached in 1998 followed by an agreement which led to the holding, at the end of last year, of a referendum in which 98% of the voters of the Pacific Island voted in favor of the 'independence.

Bougainville has enjoyed autonomy since 2005.

In 2016, Rio Tinto ceded control of its stake in the Panguna mine to the governments of Papua and Bougainville.

The population then accused the mining group of trying to escape the costs of cleaning up the site.

"These are not issues that we can deal with with our little hands. We urgently need Rio Tinto to do what needs to be done and deal with the disaster they left behind," Ms. Matbob said.

The complaint accuses the mining group of failing to manage the risks posed by the billions of tons of mining waste which it says is the cause of health problems for the more than 12,000 people living downstream.

She calls on the Australian government to push Rio Tinto to start negotiations with residents, and to launch an investigation if they fail.

© 2020 AFP