Tapping of wealth in Irian Jaya

Tapping of wealth in Irian Jaya

In his letter Freeport's social commitment (Sept. 19), Mr.
Edward J. Pressman, in response to my letter Face responsibility
to change (Sept. 16), asks for the facts behind my statement that
one of "the main causes of famine in Irian Jaya is the
exploitation of its wealth by Freeport." The fact is, that Irian
Jaya Governor Mr. Freddy Numberi, made the following statement in
The Jakarta Post article (Sept. 8) about the causes of the
famine. I quote: "All this time the results of the (exploitation)
of Irian Jaya's resources have all been funneled to (Jakarta). So
the Irianese are now facing the threat of poverty," he was quoted
by Antara as saying.

The Jakarta Post article continues: "He (Governor Numberi)
also said billions of U.S. dollars from the province were
absorbed by the central government and others. He also pointed
out how American gold and copper mining company PT Freeport
Indonesia -- which makes US$1.5 billion annually -- has increased
its monthly production of 150,000 tons of ore to 300,000 tons."

"Imagine if only $1 billion, or Rp 11 trillion of this money,
was given by the central government to the province. Our people
would be prosperous, we could even help people from other
provinces...so we wouldn't need loans from the IMF," he said.
These facts speak for themselves. The governor believes the
people of Irian Jaya can do a better job of taking care of
themselves with their own resources than can either far off
Jakarta or Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Mr. Pressman claims that I have made "grossly uninformed
statements." On the contrary, I have the facts before me in many
headlines and articles from The Jakarta Post over the last ten
years that I have lived and worked in Indonesia. Some examples
are "What has gone wrong with PT freeport" by T. Mulya Lubis;
Freeport told to respond to concerns (Dec. 6, 1995. In 1995, PT
Freeport's declared net profits were 222 million dollars, and
they paid 200 million in taxes. It is one of the largest gold and
copper mines in the world, with reserves of 1.1 billion tons of
ore. Governor Numberi said that they are now making $1.5 billion
American dollars annually.

But the real fact is that not one ounce of that ore belongs to
Freeport. This wealth, and the natural resources in Irian Jaya,
are the God-given birth right and inheritance of the Papuans, not
the Americans.

The relationship between Freeport and the Indonesian military
in Irian Jaya over the past 30 years reveals a symbiosis of
exploitation which is one of the most obvious rapes and plunders
of natural resources of any people of any nation at any time in
world history.

Mr. Pressman says that I have "erred because I don't know the
facts." On the contrary, I have been in those upland regions of
Jaya Wijaya. I wonder if Mr. Pressman has? Has he seen the
thousands of people still living in stone-age conditions there?
Has he been inside their honi (little round huts)? Has he watched
their naked bodies shiver with malaria in the unkempt "hospitals"
which are without doctors, dentists, X-ray machines, or operating
rooms?

The simple fact is Indonesia now has a severe economic crisis,
with many starving to death. Indonesia needs the finances from
its own natural resources to feed its people.

DAN ADAMS

Jakarta