The fatal shooting by police of a local worker of Freeport McMoran during a union protest on Monday will likely exacerbate a long-standing row between the US mining giant and its local stakeholders.
The protest in Timika, Papua, about 70 kilometers from the company’s Grasberg gold and copper mine site, erupted amid repeated calls from politicians and officials for the government to renegotiate its contract with Freeport.
The government said the contract, renewed in 1991 and due to expire in 2021, had positioned Indonesia on the losing side.
Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said the government wanted to revise several sections of the contact, including clauses covering royalties, divestment, the size of the mining concession, a ban on raw material exports, the use of domestic services and the length of the contract period.
Lawmaker Sohibul Iman was pessimistic. “My concern is that the shooting incident may botch efforts to renegotiate the contract instead of accelerating them.”
“The incident should be used to force Freeport back to the negotiation table and help resolve problems plaguing the company’s relations with local residents,” Sohibul, a member of House Commission VII overseeing mining, said on Monday.
Since its inception in 1967, Freeport’s assets have lured many, triggering countless incidents of violence between the company’s security force and residents.
Freeport’s Grasberg mine is the world’s largest single reserve of both copper and gold. In the first half of this year, the company paid US$1.4 billion in financial obligations to the government. From 1992 to June 2011, the company paid $12.8 billion to the Indonesian government, according to Freeport.
Freeport McMoran, however, controls a whopping 90.64 percent of PT Freeport Indonesia, while the Indonesian government holds the remaining 9.36 percent stake.
A politician who declined to be named said the disturbances surrounding Freeport’s operation were triggered by a “pie that was too big for the company to swallow alone”.
“Local politically wired businessmen are trying to get some of the pie. They’re after the company’s stocks, smelter projects, suppliers and much more.” “It’s too early to determine if the shooting was deliberately incited. One thing for sure is that there’s always trouble in the area,” the politician said.
The shooting occurred following the frequent street protests that broke out after 8,000 workers, comprising around 70 percent of the Grasberg mine’s workforce, went on strike for higher wages on Sept. 15.
Indonesia Resources Studies director Marwan Batubara said he regretted that the government was not meditating a dispute in a volatile area such as Papua.
Comments:
Your comments on the shooting death of a worker during a strike at Freeport-McMoran’s gold and copper mine in Timika, Papua, on Monday:
The use of live bullets against rioters is simply unprofessional and to target vital areas of the human body, such as the chest, is pure hatred. When will we ever learn?
Moeljono Adikoesoemo
Jakarta
It is the beginning of Freeport’s end.
Bert
Jakarta
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The Indonesian government has a duty to step in and insist the miners are paid at least the average western wage of a skilled worker, and are given adequate pensions.
This is a matter of urgency if Jakarta is serious about quelling calls for independence in Papua.
The employment law in Indonesia is nonexistent; there are no flexible hours for working mothers, only three months maternity leave which puts the lives of pregnant woman at risk, companies are free to pay Westerners different salaries to Indonesians (for the same work), and wages remain low; especially at Freeport, where miners put their lives on the line every single day.
The government needs to step in immediately to meet some of the miners’ demands and rewrite the conditions under which Freeport must operate.
If Freeport refuses, the mines should be taken into public ownership and run on a democratic basis with the national government, local government and employee representatives on a board of control, which is elected.
Brave decisions are needed to end the culture of corporate colonialism which a few very rich politicians and Indonesians preside over.
If bullets are being fired at Indonesian people, the eyes of the world will turn to watch ... and what is the miners’ expected response?
Wages and corporate responsibility are a must.
With increased income tax revenue, there can be increased investment in public services: a win-win peaceful solution.
Steve
Tangerang, Banten
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Although the strike led by Freeport’s workers turned into anarchy, there was no need for the police to shoot to kill.
If the situation became too difficult to handle, the police should have immediately called for assistance from the Indonesian Military. The incident proves that the police consider the indigenous people of Papua as less than human.
Soebagjo Soetadji
Jakarta
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Why does violence have to be the answer to this situation? Shooting a person is definitely unnecessary. The workers just wanted their income to be increased; they want their voices to be heard.
Although the wage hikes asked for might be unreasonable, the company could have prepared a better solution to handle the situation, rather than paying the police attack the workers.
This situation not only damages the company’s reputation, but also shows that Indonesians who ask for higher wages are answered
with violence.
Better solutions and reconsideration need to be applied to decisions, so that the situation will be fair and no one gets hurt.
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Anas
Jakarta
This mine has no benefit at all to the Papuans.
Lewis Prai
Australia
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Once again, the National Police have been shown to defend foreign interests instead of protecting an indigenous people.
Although foreign interests in the country are important, the lives of Indonesian people are more important than anything.
The police should not decide too quickly to use deadly force against the demonstrators. There are many methods of prevention other than guns.
Hopefully this will be the last incident in Papua.
Bambang Utomo
Jakarta