The Indonesian part of the Island of Papua has the world's largest Gold and Copper mining operated by PT. Freeport Indonesia as a subsidiary of the multinational company Freeport-McMoran, USA.
The mining operation that began in 1967 has made PT Freeport Indonesia, Freeport-McMoran and some high ranking Indonesian officials very rich.
Unfortunately not many people of Papua enjoyed the Gold and Copper money, many of them are still living in very poor condition, and the infrastructure on the territory are still in poor condition.
The company only thinks about getting as much money as possible, they do not care about the well being of their employees, and do not care about the great destruction that their mining operations have caused to nature.
Due to this facts, on 15 September 2011, the workers of PT. Freeport Indonesia has stop working, and until now they are still negotiating with the company's management for better salary and working conditions.
Further, on 19 October days, some groups of people held the third Papua People's Congress in the town of Abepura. Unlike the first two congresses which ended peacefully, this congress was disbanded by the Police because the participants have violated the conditions for holding such congress i.e. they have declared the independence of West Papua, raised the flag of Free Papua Organization, named its President and Prime Minister. Three men died in the clash between the Police and the participants, 600 hundreds others, including university and school students, were arrested, but many of them released soon afterwards.
On 21 October, three men working with the contractor of PT. Freeport Indonesia were shot to death by unknown gunmen. One week earlier, three workers of PT Freeport Indonesia were shot to death by mysterious group of men.
Yesterday, a chief of Police in the sub-district of Mulia, namely Adjunct Comm. Domingus Awes, was shot to death at the local airport by two unknown men who grabbed his gun and used it to kill him, took the gun and runaway to nearby forest. This was the second killing a Police officer at the same airport this year. On 24 June First Brig. Yazin was shot to death and his firearm was taken away.
The ambush at PT. Freeport's mine is part of a recent string, the first in April left two workers dead and two others wounded.
In reaction to the above mentioned violence, the central government in Jakarta has deployed extra Police and Military troops to join existing force of 14,000 troops in Papua to maintain security and order.
In my opinion, the never ending violence in Papua is caused by lack of social, economic and legal justice as I have mentioned above. Therefore such violence cannot be calmed merely by sending more Police and Military, but should also be followed by giving a lot much better attention to the people of Papua.
For example by persuading PT Freeport Indonesia to provide salary and working conditions as demanded by its workers, to develop free schools and health facilities, to expedite the developments of infrastructure.
Moreover, the central government, the House of Representatives and law enforcement agencies should do their utmost to show that Indonesia is lead by clean, uncorrupt, unselfish, wise and fair leaders who will properly take care of money collected from all provinces in Indonesia, especially Papua. That way the people of Papua would not felt cheated and therefore willing to be part of Indonesia.
Last but not least, if possible perhaps the central government could start to have talks with the separatist movement in Papua to find a peaceful solution like we have done in Aceh.
Showing posts with label Freeport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freeport. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Freeport Workers Plan to Strike Again
PT Freeport Indonesia, 81.28% owned by U.S Gold and Copper company Freeport-McMoran, is the world's largest producer of Gold and Copper, with its mines located in the Indonesian Province of Papua.
Freeport started mining Copper in the late '60s, but after several years it admitted that it has also been mining Gold.
Today, more than 40 years later, very large quantity of Gold and Copper have been mined and shipped to many countries of the world, making Freeport and its owners getting more richer every day.
Platts reported that Freeport's Copper production rose to 284 Million Lbs, in the January-February quarter from 279 lbs a year earlier. Gold output increased to 441,000 oz from 429,000 oz last year. Their first half production figures were not available.
Freeport estimates its 2011 sales to hit 1 billion lbs of Copper and 1.3 million troy oz of Gold. WOW!
Unfortunately, Freeport's profit is not felt by its workers, therefore causing them to protests for better wages and working conditions.
Last July, around 8,000 workers went on strike disrupting production and halted ore shipments at the time. The workers union had then asked for a review of workers wages and welfare and also cancel the plan to fire some union members from the company's board.
But considering that Freeport has not given in to the workers demand on wage adjustments, the workers union has informed the company that around 11,025 workers plan to go on strike from 15 September to 15 October.
Meanwhile, a Freeport spokesman asked the union to keep on negotiating, saying that since negotiations started on 20 July, it has offered a good compensation package for the workers. When annualized, the package will amount to 26 times the basic monthly wage [excluding overtime]. In addition, other benefit increases include more value for housing loans, bonuses for shift work, and educational assistance for their dependent children.
I hope that the Indonesian government, which also own Freeport's shares, will persuade Freeport to give much better compensation package for the workers.
Freeport started mining Copper in the late '60s, but after several years it admitted that it has also been mining Gold.
Today, more than 40 years later, very large quantity of Gold and Copper have been mined and shipped to many countries of the world, making Freeport and its owners getting more richer every day.
Platts reported that Freeport's Copper production rose to 284 Million Lbs, in the January-February quarter from 279 lbs a year earlier. Gold output increased to 441,000 oz from 429,000 oz last year. Their first half production figures were not available.
Freeport estimates its 2011 sales to hit 1 billion lbs of Copper and 1.3 million troy oz of Gold. WOW!
Unfortunately, Freeport's profit is not felt by its workers, therefore causing them to protests for better wages and working conditions.
Last July, around 8,000 workers went on strike disrupting production and halted ore shipments at the time. The workers union had then asked for a review of workers wages and welfare and also cancel the plan to fire some union members from the company's board.
But considering that Freeport has not given in to the workers demand on wage adjustments, the workers union has informed the company that around 11,025 workers plan to go on strike from 15 September to 15 October.
Meanwhile, a Freeport spokesman asked the union to keep on negotiating, saying that since negotiations started on 20 July, it has offered a good compensation package for the workers. When annualized, the package will amount to 26 times the basic monthly wage [excluding overtime]. In addition, other benefit increases include more value for housing loans, bonuses for shift work, and educational assistance for their dependent children.
I hope that the Indonesian government, which also own Freeport's shares, will persuade Freeport to give much better compensation package for the workers.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Papua Oh Papua
The Western part of the Island of Papua became a part of the Republic of Indonesia after the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) transferred administration of the territory in 1963 (here).
In 1969 the territory became a legitimate part of the Republic of Indonesia, and became the province of West Irian, later changed to Irian Jaya in 1973.
With a total land area of 421,981 Km2, the province is the largest province in Indonesia, but it only has a population of 2,9 Million. The province has very rich natural resources a.o Gold and Copper mines, also natural oil and gas, however until now the income of the people is one of the lowest in Indonesia.
The said Copper and Gold mines are run by PT Freeport Indonesia, owned by the multinational company Freeport-McMoRan, since the late '60s are the largest in the world.
These mining activities have cause continuous troubles with local people, and the mines' Tailing have severely impacted the natural environment.
Before May 1998, the authoritarian regime of the late former President Soeharto has managed to fully control the province, silenced it's people's protests, and eliminate separatist movement. by the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
After that year, liberal democracy came to Indonesia, and things started to change, people in the province expressed their protests on various matters such as demand fair share of PT Freeport's revenue, injustice, corruption, poverty etc.
In compliance with the demands of the people, 2002, the name of the province was changed to its original name i.e. Papua.
In 2003, the central government declared the western most of the province, around the Bird's Head peninsula, a separate province called West Papua.
The people of both provinces of Papua has staged protests against the PT Freeport, including strike by its 8,000 workers following several shooting incidents that killed of some the workers.
On Monday 1 August, an internal conflict between two rival candidates of the Gerindra Party for the election of the Head of the Puncak Jaya Regency has caused the death of 21 people.
On Wednesday 3 August, an Army helicopter was shot down by the OPM. Tempo quoted the Army Chief of Staff General Pramono Edhie Wibowo as saying that the helicopter was shot while it was evacuating the body of a soldier who was shot to death the day before at Puncak Jaya. There were no more casualty and the helicopter was able to fly again.
I felt that the social unrest and violence that follow in the provinces of Papua and West Papua were sparked by the same causes like in other parts of Indonesia, i.e. Socio-Political-Economic-Judicial Injustice, Poverty, Corruptions, Greedy Politicians, etc.
I therefore hope that the central government, law enforcement agencies and politicians in Jakarta and in both provinces would do their very best to eliminate all those causes, or at least minimize them, so that their people would live far more happier
In 1969 the territory became a legitimate part of the Republic of Indonesia, and became the province of West Irian, later changed to Irian Jaya in 1973.
With a total land area of 421,981 Km2, the province is the largest province in Indonesia, but it only has a population of 2,9 Million. The province has very rich natural resources a.o Gold and Copper mines, also natural oil and gas, however until now the income of the people is one of the lowest in Indonesia.
The said Copper and Gold mines are run by PT Freeport Indonesia, owned by the multinational company Freeport-McMoRan, since the late '60s are the largest in the world.
These mining activities have cause continuous troubles with local people, and the mines' Tailing have severely impacted the natural environment.
Before May 1998, the authoritarian regime of the late former President Soeharto has managed to fully control the province, silenced it's people's protests, and eliminate separatist movement. by the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
After that year, liberal democracy came to Indonesia, and things started to change, people in the province expressed their protests on various matters such as demand fair share of PT Freeport's revenue, injustice, corruption, poverty etc.
In compliance with the demands of the people, 2002, the name of the province was changed to its original name i.e. Papua.
In 2003, the central government declared the western most of the province, around the Bird's Head peninsula, a separate province called West Papua.
The people of both provinces of Papua has staged protests against the PT Freeport, including strike by its 8,000 workers following several shooting incidents that killed of some the workers.
On Monday 1 August, an internal conflict between two rival candidates of the Gerindra Party for the election of the Head of the Puncak Jaya Regency has caused the death of 21 people.
On Wednesday 3 August, an Army helicopter was shot down by the OPM. Tempo quoted the Army Chief of Staff General Pramono Edhie Wibowo as saying that the helicopter was shot while it was evacuating the body of a soldier who was shot to death the day before at Puncak Jaya. There were no more casualty and the helicopter was able to fly again.
I felt that the social unrest and violence that follow in the provinces of Papua and West Papua were sparked by the same causes like in other parts of Indonesia, i.e. Socio-Political-Economic-Judicial Injustice, Poverty, Corruptions, Greedy Politicians, etc.
I therefore hope that the central government, law enforcement agencies and politicians in Jakarta and in both provinces would do their very best to eliminate all those causes, or at least minimize them, so that their people would live far more happier
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The Killings in Freeport
Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.is the world's biggest Copper & Gold miner and its Grasberg mine on the Indonesian province of Papua has the world's largest reserves of Copper and Gold.
Although Freeport has been mining in Papua since early 1970s, however according Reuter until now it owns 90.64 percent of PT Freeport Indonesia, which operates the mine, while the Indonesian government owns the remainder.
The mine has been a frequent source of friction in Papua because of its environmental impact, the low share of revenue going to local Papuans and the legality of payments to Indonesian security forces who help guard the site.
Local separatist movement have been attacking the mine for many years, killing Indonesian and foreign workers. But so far the military and police generally keep a tight rein on the province.
Last Thursday, two senior security officers of PT Freeport were killed when their car was overturned and burned around 37 miles from the huge mine. One day earlier, two other people were wounded in a shooting nearby. Other workers on the mine have demanded better security.
To the family of both victims, I would like to express my sympathy and condolence.
I hope that our government would not only react by sending more security troops to the Freeport mine but also pay better attention on the real causes of the problem there i.e very unfair share of revenue for the central government and well as the province. Freeport MacMoran's share of 90.64% is absolutely unfair.
Further Freeport must be asked to be fully responsible for all the environment damages their mining operation has done to the area and its surrounding.
Furthermore, the central and provincial governments should accelerate the building in the province, especially infrastructure, education, industry, plantations, etc.
Although Freeport has been mining in Papua since early 1970s, however according Reuter until now it owns 90.64 percent of PT Freeport Indonesia, which operates the mine, while the Indonesian government owns the remainder.
The mine has been a frequent source of friction in Papua because of its environmental impact, the low share of revenue going to local Papuans and the legality of payments to Indonesian security forces who help guard the site.
Local separatist movement have been attacking the mine for many years, killing Indonesian and foreign workers. But so far the military and police generally keep a tight rein on the province.
Last Thursday, two senior security officers of PT Freeport were killed when their car was overturned and burned around 37 miles from the huge mine. One day earlier, two other people were wounded in a shooting nearby. Other workers on the mine have demanded better security.
To the family of both victims, I would like to express my sympathy and condolence.
I hope that our government would not only react by sending more security troops to the Freeport mine but also pay better attention on the real causes of the problem there i.e very unfair share of revenue for the central government and well as the province. Freeport MacMoran's share of 90.64% is absolutely unfair.
Further Freeport must be asked to be fully responsible for all the environment damages their mining operation has done to the area and its surrounding.
Furthermore, the central and provincial governments should accelerate the building in the province, especially infrastructure, education, industry, plantations, etc.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Freeport & Garuda
More than 40 years control over Gold and Copper minings in the Province of Papua, has seemed to make PT. Freeport Indonesia felt that it has privileges in the Province.This was shown when Freeport refused to provide fuel to the planes of Indonesia's flag carrier Garuda at Freeport's owned airport in Timika, Papua, because Garuda refused to bend its flight regulation.
The story began when Garuda flight GA 652 from Jakarta to Jayapura, via Denpasar and Timika could not land at Timika on Saturday, 2 January, due to very bad weather conditions, so instead the aircraft landed at the provincial capital Jayapura.
On Sunday morning, that plane first needed to complete its flight as GA 652 by flying to Timika before returning to Jayapura and then flying back to Timika as flight GA 653.
At that time, Freeport's President Director Armando Mahler and several top officials who were waiting for flight GA 653 requested that they be allowed to board flight GA 652 instead of wait for the plane to make a return flight to Timika without them.
The request was denied by Garuda' pilot because, as the officials were told by the pilot at the time, according to Garuda's regulation, diverted flights could not accept any additional passengers. If the pilot takes more passengers, he must make a new manifest, which will take a long time. The delay would cause other passengers in Jayapura to wait even longer, and would risk increasing pilot fatigue.
Very disappointed with the incident, Freeport sent a letter to Garuda saying that the Timika airport would not provide fuel for Garuda until further notice. Besides, Freeport wants a written apology from Garuda.
On Monday, 4 January, the Timika airport start providing fuel to Garuda again. But on the same day, Garuda sent a letter to Freeport and Timika airport operator, stating that there will not be any further flights to Timika.
Further, the Department of Transportation has summons officials of PT. Freeport Indonesia to explain about the incident.
For details on the above, please click here, here, here and here.
Considering that Freeport and Garuda, need each other, I hope that they both can maintain better mutual understandings in the future.
But I also hope that Garuda would improve its services so that it can compete healthily with other airlines in Indonesia and around the world.
Photo : Courtesy of The Jakarta Globe.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Papua: Battlegound or Playground?
Since last Saturday, an Australian engineer and 2 Indonesian security officers have been killed closed to the world’s largest open-pit Gold Mine in Papua operated by PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of U.S Gold & Copper mining giant Freeport-McMoran.
According to media reports, the Indonesian Police and Military blamed the Free Papua Organization (OPM) for those killings but was denied by the latter. This has lead to a speculation that the killings stem from rivalry between the Police and Military forces that are competing for more than US$ 5 Millions illegally paid every year by Freeport to protect the mine.
This speculation emerged because the U.S regulatory filings mentioned that Freeport pays such money, but Freeport did not respond to a request for details about its security spending. Further, the Police said that Forensic material collected at the scene of killings indicates a coordinated attack by several gunmen. Casings were recovered of military-grade 5.6 mm bullets that fit AK-47s, M-16s and Indonesian-made SS1 assault rifles which are standard weapons for both the military and police, but also known to be used by the rebels.
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono has denied the speculation, however he did not rule out the possibility that "rogue elements" of the police or military were behind the shootings.
For details regarding the above, please click here, here, here and here.
I hope that the above speculation is not true; therefore the shootings were merely acts of crimes committed by the rebels. In which case, our Police and Military authority should boost their efforts to maintain security in Papua, so that people can live peacefully.
Photo: a courtesy of Unik-unik
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Papua .. oh .. Papua
The Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua have very rich natural resources, i.e Gold, Copper, Oil, etc., huge tropical forest, and lots of beautiful locations for tourists.
And the most profitable business in Papua is the Gold and Copper mining operated by PT. Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of the U.S based mining company Freeport McMoran, which have been there for around 40 years.
In spite of this fact, unfortunately many parts of Papua are still underdeveloped compared to other provinces in Indonesia.
Since the Indonesian democratic reform in 1998, the people of Papua tried to negotiate for fair share of Freeport’s profit, but in vain. Their complaints with the local & central government were not responsed as they have expected. These disappointments have inspired some people in Papua to rebel against the government, for which purpose they have frequently attacked the mining company and killed many people. In 2002, two Americans and an Indonesian were killed in an ambush near the Grasberg operations, which is one of the world’s largest massive open-pit mines.
Last Saturday, Drew Nicholas Grant, an Australian mining technician, was shot in the neck as he traveled in a car with five others on a road near the mining location. And earlier today, the company's security guard was killed and seven other people were injured in a pair of attacks by suspected rebels, police and company officials said.
Details regarding the above killings can be read here, here and here.
I hope that the results of the recent Parliamentary and Presidential elections would enable our government to work on a much better agenda for peaceful settlement of the unrest in Papua, a.o. by persuading Freeport to share much more of their profits for the acceleration of the development in Papua.
Image:Courtesy of PapuaWeb
And the most profitable business in Papua is the Gold and Copper mining operated by PT. Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of the U.S based mining company Freeport McMoran, which have been there for around 40 years.
In spite of this fact, unfortunately many parts of Papua are still underdeveloped compared to other provinces in Indonesia.
Since the Indonesian democratic reform in 1998, the people of Papua tried to negotiate for fair share of Freeport’s profit, but in vain. Their complaints with the local & central government were not responsed as they have expected. These disappointments have inspired some people in Papua to rebel against the government, for which purpose they have frequently attacked the mining company and killed many people. In 2002, two Americans and an Indonesian were killed in an ambush near the Grasberg operations, which is one of the world’s largest massive open-pit mines.
Last Saturday, Drew Nicholas Grant, an Australian mining technician, was shot in the neck as he traveled in a car with five others on a road near the mining location. And earlier today, the company's security guard was killed and seven other people were injured in a pair of attacks by suspected rebels, police and company officials said.
Details regarding the above killings can be read here, here and here.
I hope that the results of the recent Parliamentary and Presidential elections would enable our government to work on a much better agenda for peaceful settlement of the unrest in Papua, a.o. by persuading Freeport to share much more of their profits for the acceleration of the development in Papua.
Image:Courtesy of PapuaWeb
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