Freeport's social commitment

Freeport's social commitment

I am writing in response to Mr. Dan Adams' uninformed and
outrageous attack on Freeport Indonesia in his letter to The
Jakarta Post on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Please, Mr. Adams, show us the facts behind your statement
that "the main causes of famine in Irian Jaya is the exploitation
of its wealth by Freeport." I've reviewed the article that you
cite (The Jakarta Post, Sept. 8, 1998), and nowhere in that
article does Governor Freddy Numberi make a statement you claim
he made. Since the governor didn't make the statement, it is
obviously one of your own construction, which you attempt to
parade as fact.

The famine that gripped Irian Jaya last year stemmed from the
El Nino effect. Indeed, had Freeport Indonesia not been where it
is, many more Irianese would have died during the famine.
Freeport Indonesia provided the financial and logistical support
for the lion's share of the relief effort. If you do not believe
this, please ask the Mission Aviation Fellowship, the
International Committee for the Red Cross, the United Nations
Development Program, or the provincial health department of Irian
Jaya, and they will tell you that their efforts would not have
been successful if not for the support, both logistical and
financial, that they received from Freeport Indonesia.

As for the "rape and plunder" Mr. Adams ascribes to Freeport
Indonesia, please consider this: when Freeport Indonesia first
arrived in Irian Jaya in 1967, the life expectancy of the people
living near our operations was roughly 29 years of age. Malaria
morbidity (infection rate) was in the neighborhood of 70 percent
to 80 percent. And infant mortality was so high, that the
highland people didn't name their children until the age of 3 or
4. Now, life expectancy is nearing 60 years of age, malaria
morbidity is close to 3 percent, and every child has a name from
the time they are born. All these improvements are due to the
US$20 million worth of social welfare and health programs
Freeport Indonesia voluntarily provides each year.

In addition to that, the taxes, royalties, dividends, and
other direct and indirect financial benefits that Freeport
Indonesia provides to Indonesia every year, totaling 94 percent
of the total revenue generated by our operations since 1991, is
much needed by Indonesia right now. I am certain that the
ordinary Indonesians, including the many thousands of Irianese
who benefit from our presence in this country would hardly
consider any of those benefits to be ill-gotten gain.

Mr. Adams, you've erred because you don't know the facts. And
in so doing, you've also injured well-meaning people with your
irresponsible and grossly uninformed statements. Among those
whose reputation you have sullied are the 400 community
development workers that Freeport Indonesia employs to listen to
the aspirations of the Irianese, and to assist the Irianese in
dealing with the rapid pace of change that is happening around
them.

Although we clearly have social and environmental impacts,
Freeport Indonesia also has a social conscience and a commitment
to addressing those impacts that, I believe, is unrivaled in this
country.

EDWARD J. PRESSMAN

Manager, Public Affairs

Freeport Indonesia

Jakarta