The contest for Busang's gold

The contest for Busang's gold

The battle for control of the Busang gold mine in East
Kalimantan isn't over. The intensity of the contest is natural.
The gold mining business is an undertaking that holds out the
promise of enormous profits and the Busang assets that are at
present being contested are truly formidable. The East Kalimantan
gold mine is estimated to contain at least 92 million ounces of
gold, which makes it one of the largest in the world.

Of course, all the arguments the interested parties have made
have a good basis. The problem is that, so far, it has not been
entirely clear to the public what the whole squabble is actually
about. People are still asking themselves questions, such as: Are
foreigners really needed to manage a gold mine? Are our own
people capable of doing it? How big a share should the government
have? How are the decisions regarding the selection of the
winner(s) made? Is it necessary to put a time limit on the
contract?

It is important to inform the public regarding this. As things
are at present, the parties involved in the contest are trying to
paint each other in a bad light while the public has been kept in
the dark about what the scramble is all about.

It would be good if the parties involved could put their
energy into holding a public debate instead. In such a public
debate in which all the parties involved sit down and argue about
the matter in a cool-headed fashion, the public would be able to
judge whether or not they have been sufficiently informed. In the
final instance, any support or objection expressed by the public
should be heeded by the government as the ultimate decision
maker.

-- Republika, Jakarta