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