Workers from Junyuan, a drilling company subcontracted by the petroleum mining company Petrochina Daqing Tamsag Mongolia LLC, are accused of attacking border guards in Dornod aimag. If its subcontracted employees are at fault said Vice President of Petrochina’s Mongolian operation, Zhao Zhenglun, the parent company will assume full responsibility for the event.

According to Dornod aimag’s governor, The Junyuan workers entered a prohibited area on the border, and ignored the border guards numerous warnings to exit the premises. The workers then refused to show guards their documents and began taking photos while arguing with the guards. After the border patrol said that photos were not allowed in the area and again asked for documentation, the conflict escalated to blows.
Officials with the General Authority for Border Protection have not officially lodged a complaint with Petrochina because Mongolia’s Ministry of Justice will resolve the case, one high ranking Border Protection officer said.

Police and Border protection authorities are currently investigating the incident and will not release more detailed information until they make further progress, the officer said.
Speaking for Petrochina, Zhenglun said that the company already issued an apology to the General Authority for Border Protection and the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority.

So far, he said, the company has not received any official notices about the case from either agency, adding that officials with Junyuan maintain that their workers had not entered a restricted border area and complied with all requests from border patrol agents.

Zhenglun agreed that ultimately the guilt or innocence of the workers would be determined by the ministry of justice, saying that Petrochina would take serious action if the ministry finds the workers were at fault.

However, he said, the incident was likely caused by misunderstandings, exacerbated by the language barrier between the Chinese workers and Mongolian border guards.
If the workers in fact failed to show documentation to the guards, the company will be at fault because all employees of both parent and subcontracted companies must show official papers when entering patrolled border areas—even those areas licensed by companies.

Regardless of what the ministry finds, Zhenglun said that Petrochina will organize training for all of its employees and subcontracted workers to ensure they respect local Mongolian traditions and operate within the framework of Mongolian law.

The company, Zhenglun said, is taking a lesson from this case and will take steps to demonstrate its responsibility.

 

Source: UB Post
July 31, 2008