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