Irian governor seeks Freeport contract review

JAKARTA (JP): Irian Jaya Governor Freddy Numberi called for a review of the contract with PT Freeport Indonesia, saying that the local people had yet to fully benefit from the operation of the giant American mining company in the province.

In a meeting with representatives of the Irian academia in Jayapura on Wednesday, Numberi, however, rejected their demand that the contract with Freeport, which has a huge gold and copper mining operation there, be rescinded altogether, Antara reported.

"You cannot simply revoke the contract because this will affect the international credibility of the Indonesian government. What we can do is to review the terms of the contract to give more benefits to the people of Irian Jaya," he said.

He appealed to the people in Irian Jaya, particularly to students, to show restraint, saying that Freeport had a legitimate contract to operate in the hinterland regency of Timika.

Timika has been the scene of many demonstrations, some of them violent, protesting against the presence of Freeport or against the environmental damage it causes. Security forces have been accused of human rights abuses in their dealings with protesters.

Numberi warned that so many atrocities had been committed in Timika that there could be even worse trouble ahead unless the company heeded the complaints of the people.

On Tuesday, a leading member of the House of Representatives, Amin Aryoso, also proposed "reforming" the Freeport contract.

Speaking during a working visit to Timika, Amin was quoted by Antara as saying that Freeport's operation in the area had produced "social costs", reflected by the negative reaction of the local people, which had not been covered by the contract.

Amin, chairman of the House's Commission II for home and legal affairs was visiting the area along with other members of his commission and that of Commission I, which oversees foreign, defense and political affairs.

He proposed the Freeport contract be reviewed to give the people a greater sense of belonging of their own resources. This, he said, would be a win-win solution because Freeport in turn could operate without interruptions.

Asrid S. Susanto, deputy of the House's Commission I, said Freeport must strive to provide jobs for the local people, so that they would not feel uprooted from their own land.

Numberi, who is also state minister for state administrative reforms, said Freeport and other big companies operating in Irian Jaya had not given any real benefit to the people.

"They came here to exploit the riches of the Land of the Bird of Paradise (Irian Jaya) without giving any regard to the wellbeing of the local people. That is why the people of Irian remain poor amid the province's wealth," he said.

He said he was personally hurt by Freeport's neglect of his people. "The company has operated in Irian Jaya for 23 years, reaping huge profits, yet it has done little for the people."

Freeport had not contributed to improving the skills of the local people; while it had employed many local people in its operation, not a single Irianese served in management, he noted.

"I'll take my hat off to Freeport management if it succeeds in employing Irianese sons and daughters as managers, and if it finances dozens of Irianese to study for master's and postgraduate degrees," the retired Navy rear admiral said.

"The fact that it has not done so to this day really hurts my feelings as governor," he added.

Freeport was not a "Santa Claus" when it gave royalties, amounting to 1 percent of its gross sales, for the economic development of the Timika region, he said.

The company pays between Rp 300 billion (US$43 million) and Rp 400 billion a year in royalties to the local government.

"That money was Freeport's obligation in return for occupying the land and exploiting the mining resources, for causing environmental destruction and for destroying the forests in which people used to hunt for their food," Numberi said. (emb)