The following article was printed in the AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW on Monday 29 December 1997.

The Indonesian Government wants to bury the plight of famine-stricken Irian Jaya despite an American-owned mine earning $US1m a day, writes LEE RHIANNON*.

Across the island of New Guinea there has been no significant rain this year. Rivers are drying up or contaminated. Crops are failing and new plantings have not taken place.

As the drought sets in the arbiter of life and death on this two-nation island has become a matter of which side of the border you live on.. To the east the government of Papua New Guinea has declared a state of emergency. An international relief effort is being mounted, with strong support from Australia.

To the west the Indonesian government is refusing to declare a state of emergency despite numerous requests from local church and community leaders.

The United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been permitted to initiate drought relief programs in Irian Jaya (West Papua). However, urgently needed support from other countries is being limited due to the Soeharto government's refusal to alert the world to the tragedy unfolding.

The difference in assistance being provided to the two halves of this island is considerable. Australia alone has allocated $8 million for the drought relief effort in PNG. Only $1.3 million has been made available for people in Irian Jaya (West Papua), despite the fact that this is where most people are dying.

Up until last month the numbers dying as a result of the drought was in the hundreds. In PNG it appears that these numbers have stabilised as the relief effort, supported by RAAF Hercules, is ensuring food and medical supplies reach the remotest regions. Irianese deaths from starvation and associated illnesses are estimated to be in the thousands.

Unless substantial relief to Irian Jaya (West Papua) comes soon this toll will continue to climb. The people will quickly succumb to the ravages of malnutrition as their health is already very poor. Irianese suffer higher rates of endemic malaria, pneumonia, dysentery and leprosy than any where else in Indonesia. Irian Jaya (West Papua) has the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases outside of Jakarta. It will be the elderly and children who will die in the largest numbers.

This growing calamity raises the question of why the Indonesian government has done so little for this part of its sprawling archipelago. Some government officials argue that the drought affected areas are so remote it is not possible to bring in supplies.

The region to the south of the island, where many starving Irianese have moved to, is intersected by massive rivers. Relief ferried in by boats, planes and helicopters could readily be mounted. The Australian operation just across the border in PNG demonstrates that remote areas can be reached.

One of the areas in Irian Jaya (West Papua) hardest hit by the drought is in the vicinity of the Grasberg mine owned by the US mining company Freeport McMoRan. Amungme people, whose traditional lands have been decimated by this mine, are now dying from malnutrition and diseases exacerbated by a poor diet.

Considering this community has opposed Grasberg and that the Government of Indonesia gains considerable income from the mine's operations one has to ask the question if it might suit the Indonesian authorities to allow nature to take its course in this region. For the Amungme it is now virtually impossible for them to continue fighting Freeport as the drought has taken such a toll. Local people are severely weakened and in many cases are dying from hunger.

For years Freeport has had to contend with opposition from local people. The Indonesian military, which provides protection for Freeport activities have been linked with the torture and murder of dozens of local people. Investigations by the Catholic Church of Jayapura and the Australian Council of Overseas Aid have found that the company turned a blind eye to these human rights abuses.

This year the Government of Indonesia will receive an estimated $US480 million in royalties, taxes and benefits from Grasberg, the world's largest gold mine and third largest cooper mine. This revenue is set to rise as gold output will be increased by 60 percent under expansion plans, to be funded in the main by Rio Tinto, a part owner of the mine.

The revenue from this mine, located high in the mountains of Irian Jaya (West Papua), is vital to the future of the Soeharto government, particularly in light of the recent near collapse of the Indonesian economy. The government of Indonesia could be expected to do everything to ensure that the Freeport mine, which it has a ten percent interest in, operates unfettered.

Irrespective of Indonesia's economic problems the people of Irian Jaya (West Papua) have a right, like their neighbours across the border in PNG, to receive all the assistance needed to avert death and suffering.

With profits from the Grasberg mine now up to $US1 million per day, surely the main owners, Freeport McMoRan, Rio Tinto and the government of Indonesia, should accept their moral responsibility to assist drought impacted communities in Irian Jaya (West Papua).

And hopefully the government's of the world will not wait to be asked by the Indonesian government, but move quickly to offer assistance.

* Lee Rhiannon is the Director of AID/WATCH, a monitoring body for Australia's overseas aid program.

AID/WATCH is an Australian non government organisation that monitors the environmental and social impact of Australia's overseas aid program, including AusAID, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

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