Kissinger's friendship toward Indonesia

Kissinger's friendship toward Indonesia

I have a friend who once worked for Freeport in Tembaga Pura.
One of the things he noticed when he was there was that there is
now a massive hole in the ground where a rather large mountain
used to be. He also observed that the local people were reaping
very little benefit from having the world's largest copper and
gold mine on their doorstep, and that the rivers around the mine
were an interesting (albeit rather unnatural) color. His list of
serious concerns was a long one and he returned to his home
country extremely disillusioned with Freeport's enterprise in
Irian Jaya.

According to Henry Kissinger (self-proclaimed friend of
Indonesia), the government should not raise such concerns. The
contract should be respected because it is in the interests of
Indonesia since "you want investment from all over the world", he
announced on Feb. 28. Kissinger must know, but will not mention,
that the original Freeport contract was made with a corrupt and
self-serving regime that would have sold the country's soul if it
would mean an extra zillion bucks in its own pocket. He also must
know that the people of Irian Jaya deride the contract simply as
a mechanism for an American company to plunder their abundant
natural resources.

He must also be aware that the company is an environmental
catastrophe in progress. But all this is of no consequence, he
seems to be saying: the main thing is to keep the investors
happy. And of course, one of the investors that needs to be kept
happy is Kissinger himself -- Freeport McMoRan's website lists
him as a member of the board of directors. The manifest self-
interest in his statements is stunning, even for an American ex-
secretary of state.

Indonesia should reject Kissinger's "You need our investment
so let us do what we want" argument as it simply worships the
markets while using Indonesia's economic woes as an opportunity
to exert pressure (You're down and the markets will kill you if
you mess with us, seems to be the central thrust of his
argument). Well, what the markets want seldom has any correlation
to what is proper, right and fair, and Indonesia is currently
trying to set up a system based on these values. Does Indonesia
really need to protect multinationals' right to destroy the
environment in order to attract foreign investment? The right to
pollute? The right to drain a province's natural resources? Of
course not. Indonesia should insist that all investors (including
Freeport) apply the same high standards that they are required to
observe when doing business in their own countries. And stop
listening to advice from friends like Kissinger.

ANDREW TRIGG

Jakarta