Freeport promises Irianese a bigger stake<\/p>\n
By T. Sima Gunawan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): PT Freeport Indonesia, the giant American copper
\nand gold mining company, agreed yesterday to allocate one percent
\nof its income to the local community in Irian Jaya and hire more
\nindigenous people, an official said.<\/p>\n
The decision was made by the chairman of New Orleans-based
\nFreeport McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. James Moffet one month
\nafter three days of riots in the Irian Jayan copper town of
\nTimika and the Tembagapura mine, which killed four people.<\/p>\n
\"For the period of at least 10 years, PT Freeport will
\nallocate one percent of its income for the benefit of local
\ncommunity in Irian Jaya,\" spokesman for the provincial
\nadministration, Fx. Suryanto Sri Wardoyo, told The Jakarta Post
\nby phone last night.<\/p>\n
\"There are no details on how or when PT Freeport will do this.
\nI hope there will be further meetings in the near future,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Andrianto Machribie, president of PT Freeport Indonesia, was
\nquoted by Antara as saying that the sum to be allocated for local
\ncommunity could be around US$15 million a year.<\/p>\n
Suryanto said PT Freeport also pledged to recruit more
\nindigenous people, improve their skills and give more attention
\nto the environment and sanitation.<\/p>\n
Moffet and a clutch of top officials, including Machribie, met
\nwith leaders of local tribes in Timika for about two hours
\nyesterday morning. The meeting was opened by Irian Jaya Governor
\nJacob Pattipi and was attended by military commander Maj.Gen.
\nDunija as well as a number of local and central government
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
A similar meeting was also held in Tembagapura later
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Moffet had earlier met with President Soeharto in Jakarta
\nbefore flying to Irian Jaya on Friday.<\/p>\n
Suryanto said PT Freeport agreed to provide scholarships for
\n200 Irianese students a year. Under the current program, the
\ncompany provides scholarships to 100 students.<\/p>\n
The company said it will double the number of Irian Jayan
\nemployees on the supervisor level within 10 years. It also
\npledged to double the number of indigenous people recruited by
\nthe company in the first five years. In the second five years, it
\nwill double the number again.<\/p>\n
PT Freeport, which has operated in Irian Jaya since 1972, has
\nabout 12,000 employees, mostly from outside the province.<\/p>\n
Security<\/p>\n
According to AFP, thousands of security forces and police were
\nmobilized in Timika ahead of yesterday's meeting.<\/p>\n
\"Almost every house of the Amungme (the local ethnic
\npopulation in Timika) was guarded by an average of six armed
\nsoldiers,\" it reported.<\/p>\n
Spokesman of the military command, Lt.Col. Maulud Hidajat,
\nhowever, strongly denied these reports.<\/p>\n
\"We stood guard at strategic areas, such as the airport and
\npublic places, to prevent any unexpected incidents. But we didn't
\nguard the houses of the Amungme people. We didn't deploy
\nthousands of troops,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
He said that the situation was calm and that life in Timika
\nand Tembagapura were normal.<\/p>\n
PT Freeport has been a frequent target of allegations of human
\nright abuses and environmental degradation. Critics say that
\nFreeport has not contributed enough to the well-being of local
\ntribal people, who have the ancestral right to the land.<\/p>\n
\"It will be good for PT Freeport to involve more local people
\nin its activities so that they have a sense of belonging. They
\nshould become more than onlookers,\" Hidajat said.<\/p>\n
The company controls an area of 26,400 square kilometers with
\nthe world's largest proven reserves of gold. It is 82 percent
\nowned by Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold, nine percent by the
\nIndonesian government and the rest by the Bakrie Group.<\/p>\n
PT Freeport is expected to release the results of its self-
\naudit later this month and the report on the social implications
\nof the mining activities in May.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/freeport-promises-irianese-a-bigger-stake-1447893297",
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