Paras Indonesia, February, 24 2006 @ 02:21 am
Student Violence Not Helping Papuan Cause
By: Roy Tupai
An attack by Papuan students on a Jakarta office building used by copper and gold
mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia was counterproductive to efforts to find a peaceful
solution to an ongoing blockade at the firm's massive Grasberg mine in Papua
province.
Freeport Indonesia and its New Orleans, Louisina-based parent company
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold occupy several upper floors of Plaza 89 on Jalan
Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
A group of Papuan students, led by Yan Matua, arrived at the building at 3.30am
Thursday (23/2/06) to protest what they said was the central government's lack of
serious attention to problems faced by indigenous Papuans, including the right to
mine waste from Grasberg.
According to the students' lawyer, Abu Said Pelu of the Commission for Missing
Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), police fired warning shots to disperse the
protesters after several of the building's windows were smashed. Some reports said
the demonstrators also damaged the building's security post and set fire to a travel
agency on the ground floor.
After the protest, the students made their way to the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid
Institute Foundation (YLBHI) at 4.30am but it was closed, so they then went to the
Kontras office at 4.45am. Thirteen of the protesters were detained by police.
"The action was carried out because they were upset by the problems in Papua and
the government's lack of seriousness to resolve the problems facing the traditional
community there," Pelu was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
He identified 10 of the detained students as Yan Matua, Paul Wolom, Gomes Kagola,
Bevlan Kagola, Ales Wenda, Benetus Magayong, Didi Paregay, Martin P.B, Wendany
and Tius Kagola.
Most of the students apparently lived in the Wisma Cendrawasih building in Tanah
Abang, Central Jakarta. Police have sealed off the dormitory building and are intending
to interrogate all of the students involved in the attack.
Freeport spokesman Budiman Moerdijat said the company's offices suffered no
damage during the protest. "We don't own the building, we are only a tenant. No
damage was done to our offices," he was quoted as saying by AFX.
Freeport Indonesia, the country's top corporate taxpayer, has long been accused of
environmental crimes at Grasberg, which is the world's biggest gold mine and third
largest copper mine.
The company has also been criticized for paying millions of dollars in protection
money to senior military and police officers to guard the open-pit mine.
Human rights activists claim the military was involved the August 2002 killing of three
teachers from Freeport's international school in an effort to extort more security
payments from the firm. The military has denied any involvement. Police recently
arrested a group of Papuan separatist rebels and accused them of responsibility for
the killings.
Foreign reporters are banned from traveling freely in Papua.
Production Suspended Over Blockade
Police on Tuesday reportedly fired rubber bullets, injuring five people, in an operation
to remove some 400 "illegal" miners from the Grasberg site's waste area. Police have
denied opening fire. Two of Freeport's police guards were reportedly wounded by
arrows during the skirmish.
The local miners deny their activity is illegal, saying they have been sifting through
Freeport's tailings waste since 1993. They responded to their expulsion by staging a
blockade at the site on Wednesday, forcing Freeport to suspend production. The
protest action continued Thursday.
Freeport Indonesia head Adrianto Machribie said the action was costing the company
between $10 million and $12 million a day.
The demonstrators, some armed with bows and arrows, are demanding the right to
prospect for gold and copper in the waste rock and gravel from the main mining
operation. They are also calling for a meeting with Freeport chairman James Robert
'Jim Bob' Moffett and the mayor of the nearby town of Timika.
The company said its officials have been in talks with police, the government and local
community leaders in an effort to resolve the problem peacefully and quickly.
Grasberg last halted production in October 2003 after a landslide killed nine workers.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered Energy and Mineral Resources
Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro to work with Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal
and Security Affairs Widodo Adisutjipto to resolve the dispute to minimize the loss of
state revenue.
National Police chief General Sutanto said Thursday that in line with the spirit of
Papua's regional autonomy, the provincial government and police have been
authorized to take the lead in ending the blockade. He said this should be achieved
by mediating a dialogue between Freeport officials and local community leaders. "Not
everything is handled by the center, there is regional autonomy there now," he was
quoted as saying by detikcom.
"The case is being handled and we hope the company will immediately resume
operations as usual," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara. He said
there was no plan to increase the number of security personnel at the mine.
Asked about the attack by the students in Jakarta, Sutanto said the perpetrators
would be processed in line with prevailing laws.
'Don't Blame the Natives'
University of Indonesia sociologist Thamrin Amal Tamagola said Papuans should not
be blamed for Tuesday's clash at the mine. "We should not put the blame on the
indigenous people but on PT Freeport Indonesia, the central and provincial
governments, who have not given enough attention to the fate of those people," he
was quoted as saying by Antara.
He said the incident was the culmination of locals' annoyance with Freeport's
"unfriendly attitude" and its use of soldiers and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) police to
guard its premises. "The local people also want to enjoy the benefits derived from the
exploitation of Papua's natural resources."
Tamagola said Freeport should adopt a friendlier approach to locals. "It should also
stop using military and police personnel against the local people," he added.
Parliament deputy speaker Zaenal Maarif, a member of the Reform Star Party, urged
the government to facilitate a dialogue between Papuan community leaders and
Freeport's "director" (presumably he was referring to Jim Bob Moffett). "We hope the
director of Freeport will not be arrogant and unconditionally refuse to meet with the
community for talks. They only want a dialogue. How could the US people, as
champions of democracy, refuse the people who want to hold a dialogue? It will be
able to be resolved through a dialogue," he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
He said the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) should not be brought in to stop the
blockade. "I agree that TNI is not involved. The National Police is the one with the duty
to protect the state's assets."
Moffett, who reportedly earns more than $40 million a year, is known for his
dismissive stance toward criticism of Freeport. He once said the environmental impact
of the mine "is the equivalent of me pissing in the Arafura Sea".
When once showing a slide of a smiling Papuan youth wearing a bellhop uniform,
Moffett said: "I guarantee you this sombitch is glad we found a copper and gold
mine… [before Freeport arrived] the young man was raising vegetables or doing
whatever on the mountain with his parents."
He has also defended Freeport's dealings with former dictator Suharto, saying: "We
find President Suharto to be a compassionate man."
Closure Rally
In the Papuan capital of Jayapura, about 300 people on Thursday rallied outside the
provincial legislative assembly to demand the closure of Freeport. After failing to meet
with any legislators, they proceeded on foot to Freeport's local office some 15
kilometers away.
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