Indonesia Mine a Blessing and a Curse
2/21/96
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Headline: Indonesia Mine a Blessing and a Curse
Source: CNN
Date: 2/21/96
From Correspondent Maria Ressa
IRIAN JAYA, Indonesia (CNN) -- The soaring mountain peaks and
dense jungle of Irian Jaya on the eastern end of the Indonesian
archipelago has been called one of the world's last great
wilderness areas.
It is a region rich in natural resources such as gold, copper and
zinc and, until early this century, was populated by only a few
indigenous tribes.
But the Stone Age communities were forced to come face-to-face
with the 20th century when the U.S. company Freeport-McMoran
Copper & Gold began mining operations in Irian Jaya almost 30
years ago. Now, Freeport's massive mine near the town of Timka is
at the center of a worldwide environmental and political dispute.
Tribal leaders and environmentalists claim the mine in the rugged
mountains is the source of tons of toxic wastes that are killing
portions of a river and acres of rain forest. Many of the tribes
also complain that their land has been taken without compensation
by the Indonesian government, and that human rights activists have
been abused and some even murdered by the Indonesian military.
An awesome venture
The Indonesian government is struggling with the physical and
financial pressures wrought by its population of more than 185
million people -- fifth largest in the world. As a result, it has
accelerated development plans for Irian Jaya, including tapping
its natural resources and building infrastructure such as roads
and bridges. Government officials also have moved about 200,000
people into the region from the overcrowded island of Java.
More than 17,000 people work at the mine run by
Freeport Indonesia. Freeport-McMoran owns 80 percent of the
operation; the Indonesian government and private investors own the
rest. Freeport mines about 125,000 tons of ore a day from what
geologists say is the world's largest single deposit of gold.
It's value is estimated at more than $50 billion dollars.
Critics not impressed
Angry opponents complain that water and sediment runoff from the
mine is turning the nearby Ajikwa River a muddy brown. Emmy
Hafild, a local environmentalist from the Walhi tribe, charges
that the sediment, which many claim is toxic, has changed the
course of the river and killed nearly 12 square miles of nearby
forest.
Environmental critics also have accused Freeport of standing in
the way of independent testing, although the company's senior
ecologist, Bruce Marsh, denies that.
"They're free to take samples whenever they like," Marsh said. He
notes that the river is within walking distance of the Timika
Airport from which samples could be flown to an independent lab.
Marsh also says Freeport "has made a commitment that we will
reclaim all the areas or revegetate all the areas that have been
impacted by tailings." Huge piles of tailings contain the residue
of the ore after the gold has been removed. Marsh says Freeport
has built a $2 million laboratory to monitor the quality of the
river and marine life, and insists the company is in compliance
with applicable Indonesian and U.S. laws.
However, last October, the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation, a U.S. agency, canceled a $100 million political
risk insurance policy covering the mine after citing environmental
concerns. Freeport says the action is illegal, and it has
submitted the issue for arbitration.
A human rights flash point
The Freeport mine also is the focus of a long-simmering political dispute
between the Indonesian government and the natives of Irian Jaya, located
on the western end of the island of Papua, New Guinea.
A report by an Australian international aid organization details a
confrontation at the mine between tribal people and Indonesian
troops at Christmas in 1994. The report says soldiers opened fire,
killing three civilians, while five members of the Dani tribe
disappeared. The BBC World Service carried a similar report from
one of its correspondents.
Paul Murphy, Freeport senior vice president, termed the Australian
agency report "filled with half truths and exaggerations and, in
some cases, outright lies."
The company has denied any involvement by its employees in the
deaths or in any other alleged human rights violations in Irian
Jaya. Murphy made the denials in -- among other places -- a
January 1996 letter to the editor of The Texas Observer, which has
printed several articles about Freeport Indonesia operations. In
response, the editors said Freeport-McMoran "has been in a direct
and mutually sustaining partnership with the Suharto government,
by all objective counts one of the most corrupt and brutal
dictatorships on earth."
Meanwhile, the Indonesian government's economic
development of Irian Jaya continues. And Freeport Indonesia is
spending $40 million a year to keep 600 people in the field
searching for more mineral deposits like the nearly two billion
tons of gold ore in the mine near Timiko.
But, unlike the miners, the government faces the urgent task of
finding a balance between the Indonesian need for jobs, food and
living space, and the fragile environment of Irian Jaya, where
natives want to share in the economic prosperity while saving
their homeland.