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| Kissinger Watch #14 - 3 | |
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| Walhi protests Kissinger's Freeport statement | |
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| March 1, 2000 JAKARTA (IO) - A leading environmental group yesterday slammed former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger for urging Indonesia not to review business deals with giant copper and mining company PT Freeport Indonesia. The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said the statement was a form of "intimidation" against the Indonesian government considering that Freeport Indonesia was accused of pollution in Irian Jaya, where the company is based. "We, Walhi, strongly protest against Kissinger's statement because it sounds like intimidation. We think his statement is unethical, bullying and ignores the democratization process now underway in the country," said a statement signed by Walhi leader Emmy Hafild. Kissinger is a member of the board of directors Freeport's parent company, Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. Hafild said it was improper for a former minister of a country that upholds democracy and human rights to act like that. "It is unfair of Henry Kissinger to ask Gus Dur to respect a work contract that was signed by [former president] Soeharto," she said. She accused Kissinger of making use of his power as a former foreign minister to pressure the Indonesian president. Kissinger on Monday with President Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, who then appointed him as his political advisor. The former US secretary of state said Indonesia should respect working contracts it signed with Freeport, otherwise no foreign investor would come to Indonesia. In response, Gus Dur said the government would not make any change to the mining contracts, but told Freeport to provide special care for people in Irian Jaya. Walhi's statement said environment groups around the world have been fighting for years to overcome environmental problems caused by Freeport's activities. The Amungme tribe in Irian Jaya where Freeport operates, struggled for years to assert their rights and make their voice heard. Their voice and rights had long been ignored by Soeharto, she said. Now when the Amungme people's struggle was beginning to draw the attention of parliament, Henry Kissinger had come to cite unethical reasons to protect the company which was making profits at the expense of the environmental interests of the locals, she said. Walhi urged the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to go ahead with their plans to evaluate and assess Freeport's performance and work contracts. The government and the House should not be influenced by Kissinger's pressure, said the group. Walhi said PT Freeport's working contracts were made by Soeharto when the situation was undemocratic with House members merely acting as rubber stamps and people living in fear. The contract was also made in a business atmosphere that did not respect the people's aspirations and the democraticmechanism to make decisions, said Hafild. She said the Indonesian government, the people and the House were at present just embarking on building a system based on democratic principles, and Kissinger has to respect that. If he really represents the US, which always puts democracy above financial considerations, he should adjust the company's contract, she added. Hafild said Freeport's work contract "is not legitimate in the eyes of the Indonesian people because it was made by Soeharto during a transitional period from the Old Order to the New Order and under a wrong system and mechanism". The contract was also made without the involvement of local people and when Papua was still not a part of Indonesia, she said. | |
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