Moffett building construction on schedule. Lucinda Bartley, Daily Texan, July 3, 1996. "Krieg (associate professor of zoology) said the controversy surrounding the naming of the building after James R. Moffett, president and chief executive officer of Freeport-McMoRan has died down. Students and faculty had protested allegations of Freeport-McMoRan's environmental misconduct and charges of human rights abuses in Indonesia. ... Krieg added that the name would not be changed. `I don't think there's anything that can be done about it now after the regents' decision' to retain the title, he said. `You have to get realistic about these things after a point,' he added."
Tribal leaders reject Freeport's trust offer. Austin American Statesman, July 3, 1996, p. A5. Lexis-Nexis. Describes the recent rejection of Freeport's offer by the Amungme leaders. Wryly recalls a previous assertion by Moffett: "Jim Bob Moffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold, said in May that an agreement had been struck with tribal leaders whereby Freeport would provide 1 percent of annual revenues for social development programs." The Statesman based its story on an Associated Press report. A Reuters report of the rejection (Lexis-Nexis) adds "The tribes said in a statement that there were efforts by the military to coerce people into signing the agreement. Beanal and nine other tribesmen have filed a $6 billion class action suit against Freeport in New Orleans charging the company with ''eco-terrorism'' and ''cultural genocide.''" In a subsequent Reuters report, Paul Murphy, Freeport vice-president, denied the rejection claims, and stated that the Programme Implementation Unit had received the first $3.76 million from Freeport to disperse under the agreement. While doubting whether Tom Beanal represents the Amungme, Murphy acknowledged ``It's our feeling that the vast majority of the Amungme people support the leadership of Lemasa,'' perhaps not yet realizing that it is Lemasa that has done the official rejecting. On July 3, the Times-Picayune quotes a Freeport press release as saying: "`This is a government-sponsored and directed plan based upon the needs of the Irianese people,'" and added "Freeport asked critics to direct comments about the program to the government of Indonesia." This remark may be contrasted with a statement by Freeport, in a full page ad in the American-Statesman on April 25: "An Agreement Has Been Reached with Our Indonesian Neighbors. On April 13 in Irian Jaya (West Papua), Indonesia, Freeport finalized an agreement with local indigenous leaders to continue the enhancement of direct benefits to those tribes whose original lands have been impacted by the company's operations."
Irian Jaya (West Papua)n tribes reject miner's offer. Louise Williams, Syndney Morning Herald, July 3, 1996. "Tribal leaders from Irian Jaya (West Papua) have rejected a trust fund offer by the US mining giant Freeport, saying it is a meaningless and inadequate compensation for tribal lands lost to the huge copper and gold operation. ... However, a lawyer, Mr Martin Regan, said the offer had now been put at $US 500,000 a year. `Each Amungme and Komoro will only receive 48 US cents a week. What do you expect them to buy with such a sum of money? The amount was far below that of the trust fund previously mentioned by a senior Freeport official,' Mr Regan told the English-language Jakarta Post."
Heard it on the grapevine. Treat the following as not yet documented (by me, rsb) gossip:
- Joining Tom Beanal in suing Freeport will be Mama Yosepha, Bartolomeus Magai (Chairman of the Board of Lemasa), Mathias Kelanangame (member, board of directors of Lemasa), Victor Beanal, and several other Irian Jaya (West Papua) indigenous. The name Victor Beanal is especially interesting since it was reported, cf. Times-Picayune, April 30, 1996, that Moffett claimed that a Victor Beanal had accepted Freeport's 1% offer on behalf of the Amungme.
- Shortly after appearing in court in New Orleans on May 24, Tom Beanal visited Washington, D. C., and met with U. S. Rep. Tom Lantos of the House subcommittee on human rights. Beanal returned to Timika with a letter signed by 17 U. S. Congressmen commending him for his courage and asking that he provide them with further information on human rights abuses in Irian Jaya (West Papua). It is Lantos's experience that individuals returning home with such a letter can use it to avoid persecution.
More riots in Irian. Sources UPI, Reuters, AFP, Suara Pembaruan (Jayapura). July 4. In two days of rioting, in the Irian Jaya town of Nabire, capital of the Paniai district, five hundred to three thousand people, by various estimates, rioted and burned buildings, 100 of them by one estimate, including a prison, a bank, a market, and telecommunications and government offices. Military forces were flow in and stopped the rioting. At least eight rioters were shot. Three military were seriously injured. The town was closed down. The riots apparently were sparked by government hiring practices, which are alleged to give unjust preference to non-Iriananese. These riots follow riots earlier this year in Tembagapura, Timika, and Jayapura.
Judge sanctions lawyer in suit against Freeport. Times Picayune, July 4, 1996. Lexis-Nexis. U. S. Federal District Judge Stanwood Duval, Jr. fined (sanctioned) Tom Beanal's lawyer Martin Regan $1,000 for obstructing a deposition of Beanal by a Freeport lawyer, but Judge Duval chose not to dismiss Tom Beanal's law suit against Freeport, as Freeport had requested. "Duval wrote that
`Regan acted reasonably in light of the unusual circumstances including the geographic distance as well as the language barrier. Accordingly,' Duval wrote, `this court will not dismiss the instant suit.'"
Regan statement about Judge Duval's ruling. July 4, 1996. Email statement by Tom Beanal's lawyer Martin Regan broadcast to the West Papua mailing list.
Freeport-McMoRan lawsuit left intact. Houston Chronicle, July 5, 1996. Lexis-Nexis. "NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge rejected Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold's effort to get a $6 billion lawsuit accusing the company of environmental and human rights violations thrown out of court." Interesting that the Houston Chronicle headline emphasized that the $6 billion suit was left intact, whereas the Times-Picayune headline emphasized the $1000 sanction.
Freeport's philanthropy. Ralph K. M. Haurwitz, Austin American-Statesman, July 8, 1996, p. A1. An article about Freeport's $80 million in charitable donations over the last decade. "Surveys by the Conference Board, a nonprofit research organization, have found that corporation giving generally hovers around 1 percent of pre-tax income. Freeport gives at least 2 percent -- a
`high standard' but `not off the scale,' said David Lowry, the board's vice president of social and developmental programs. ... `When I was growing up, if I hadn't had the Boys Club and the YMCA and a few of those people at the parks to look after me, I wouldn't have had any supervision,' Moffett (Freeport chairman) said. `I was really lucky to have some people who took an interest in me, got me interested in athletics and kept me out of trouble. That's certainly something you don't forget.' The company's philanthropic motto is `giving something back.' Moffett personally donates $750,000 to $1 million annually."
Freeport, Cuba, Sherritt, and Helms-Burton. Some of the top executives of Sherritt, a Canadian company, are to be barred from the US under the new Helms-Burton law. See, for example, ``U.S. To Punish Canadians Under Cuba Law,'' David E. Sanger, The New York Times, July 11, 1996. See also ``Staking a claim; Canadians prepare to fight a U.S. ban on trade with Cuba,'' D'Arcy Jenish, Maclean's, June 24, 1996, (Lexis-Nexis), which notes that a predecessor to Freeport-McMoRan once owned a nickel-cobalt mine near Moa Bay in Cuba, and Sherritt is now apparently involved with that mine. The U. S. Foreign Claim Settlement Commission has certified a Freeport claim for $50 million. The Times Picayune, May 30, 1996, p. C1, (Lexis-Nexis), asserts "Freeport estimates its investment in Cuba was worth $500 million". For some of the history of Freeport's Cuban mines, see "David Atlee Phillips, Clay Shaw & Freeport Sulphur", March-April issue, pp. 16-24, Probe, published by CTKA; references three relevant New York Times articles in the 1960-62 period. U.S. bans Canadian firm's execs. Houston Chronicle, July 10, 1996. (If asked, try the user id "houstonchronicle" with password "free".)
Some dead links here. See the reference to Moa Bay in http://cnn.com/WORLD/9608/23/cuba.claim.wir/ this CNN list of certified claimants href="http://cnn.com/WORLD/9608/23/cuba.property.claims.wir/" Related CNN story >
1,000 locals join suit against Freeport. Greenwire, July 16, 1996. Lexis-Nexis. "Over 1,000 indigenous people on the Indonesian island of Irian Jaya (West Papua) have joined a lawsuit filed by Amungme tribal leader Tom Beanal against Freeport McMoRan for environmental damage caused by Freeport's mining operations."
More protests in Timika. Rumor has it that on July 18, 2,000 indigenous people in Timika, Irian Jaya (West Papua), marched in protest against Freeport. The protest, again citing rumors, apparently concerned the recently proposed Freeport settlement offers, and concerned the question of which local groups legitimately represent the various indigenous peoples and hence have authority to accept or refuse a Freeport proposal. Some related rumors. According to a July 28, 1996 Times Picayune article referenced below, Freeport claimed that the protest involved several hundred protestors, not thousands.
The Truth Hurts. Robert Bryce, Austin Chronicle, July 19-25, 1996.
Integrated Timika Development (ITD) Program Successfully Launched. Indonesia Times, July 23, 1996. (Try the user id "indotimes" with password "free".) Reports the acceptance of money from Freeport by "Amungkal" and "Lemasko", two brand new foundations, whose legitimacy as being representative of the idigenous people is questionable in view of the recent Lemasa rejection. (Rp 500,000,000 is approximately USD$250,000.)
U. S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher visits with Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights. UPI, Jakarta, July 23, 1996. "Marzuki Darusman, deputy chairman of the independent, government-established commission, said Christopher asked questions on recent decisions by the Indonesian Supreme Court, on conditions in the strife-torn province of Irian Jaya (West Papua) and on environmental issues."
The fun of being a multinational. The Economist, July 20, 1996, US Edition, p. 51. (Lexis-Nexis). Reviews some problems of various multi-nationals, including Freeport.
Articles about the Jakarta violence July 27 and 28
Newly released documents show federal insurer questioned environmental impact of Freeport mine. Stewart Yerton, Times-Picayune, July 28, 1996, P. F1, Lexis-Nexis. (Much of this article was run by the Associated Press. See, for example, Daily Texan, July 30, 1996, p. 1.) - "The documents show that as early as 1989, the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. raised questions about how Freeport's giant copper and gold mine would affect the rivers and rain forests in Irian Jaya, a remote province that makes up the western half of New Guinea. The documents also confirm that environmental concerns motivated the agency to cancel a political-risk insurance policy for Freeport last fall. In addition, the documents suggest that, after the cancellation, Freeport threatened OPIC employees with the possibility of personal lawsuits."
- "Last week, Regan (Tom Beanal's lawyer) announced that more than 1,000 tribal people have signed up to join Beanal as plaintiffs, and later he backed up the announcement with documents containing more than 1,000 signatures."
- "Regan also released a statement describing a protest by 2,000 people in the village of Timika."
- "In response, Freeport fired off statements denying the validity of Regan's statements."
Freeport defends its record on environment. Amy Strahan, Daily Texan, July 30, 1996.
Megawati subjected to six hours of police interrogation. Louise Williams, Sydney Morning Herald, August 10, 1996.
In an extraordinary statement, a senior official of the (Indonesian) armed forces think-tank said President Soeharto was still clinging to power after three decades because, among other things, he feared being impeached. "If he does step down, he wants guarantees that his successor will not turn on him in the way that is happening in South Korea," Juwono Sudarsono, Vice-Governor of the National Resilience Institute, said. Mr Juwono was referring to mounting criticism of the personal business empire built by the President's family, using the President's position to gain economic advantages. In South Korea, former President Chun Doo Hwan faces a possible death penalty for accumulating considerable personal wealth during his term, which ended with massive popular street demonstrations in 1987.
More kidnappings. Reuter and other services report that on August 14 approximately 40 Irianese rebels kidnapped approximately 13 people about 36 miles from Timika, in the village Komora. Those kidnapped were employees of Djajanti, which is in the timber business. Over a hundred Indonesian soldiers were in pursuit. No particular connection with Freeport issues has been reported, but the rebels are said to want Amungme leader Tom Beanal as a negotiator. Beanal is suing Freeport in New Orleans federal court. The rebels have not been linked to the OPM, and some reports call the kidnappers mere bandits or robbers because some things were stolen in the kidnapping. ... The Indonesian army now claims to have encircled the kidnappers. ... The demand of the kidnappers is that the logging stop. ... In light of kidnappings in the area, the Indonesian government has declared Carstensz Peak, about 10 km from Freeport's mine, off limits to mountain climbers ... Walhi has denied military allegations that NGOs were involved in the recent kidnapping of 12 loggers. ... Beanal says abductions are alien to Lemasa's principles. ... Aug. 22: the Indonesian army reports killing one kidnapper. ... Indonesia, according to the Xinhua news agency, has halted all research programs in Irian Jaya (West Papua). ... Aug. 26: the military says the kidnappers are OPM. The killed kidnapper, one M. Yogi, was perhaps the leader of the kidnappers. ... Aug. 27. Indonesian army still surrounds kidnappers. Aug. 28 A platoon of Kopassus, elite Indonesian military, is being sent in, along with a "rainmaster" to stop the inclement weather, which has prevented a rescue. ... Aug 31. The Indonesian army rescues most of the hostages; three remain hostage. Sept. 5 Three hostages remain unrescued, Beanal questioned. ... Sept. 13 Hostage rescue delayed further by weather. ... Sept. 16. One more hostage rescued by army; two remain hostage. ... Sept. 25. The last two hostages were found dead of stab wounds.
Spinning Gold. Robert Bryce, Mother Jones, September-October 1996, p. 66-69. "By keeping journalists away from its Indonesian mine--which contains gold, silver, and copper valued at $50 billion--New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan has managed to put its spin on environmental and human rights abuses near the mine." Thorough four page review of the story. Pushing the envelope of copyright law, there is included a photograph of the February 1996 National Geographic photograph of the Freeport open pit mine (a decapitated mountain in the midst of an extremely high range, with its awesome drainage colors reminiscent of some netherworld) even though, according to the caption, the photographer refused to let Mother Jones print the original photograph so as not to "alienate" Freeport.
Resettled Indonesians Find Hard Life. Seth Mydans, New York Times, August 25, 1996, Sec. 1. P. 22. (Lexis-Nexis). General article on some difficulties encountered in Indonesia's efforts to move some of its population from densely populated Java to other islands. "Now it (the Indonesian government's transmigration policy) is targeting the eastern province of Irian Jaya, but it has met with even stronger resistance from environmentalists and from human rights groups protesting encroachments on the lands of indigenous jungle-dwelling peoples. Despite these problems, the logic for resettlement is inescapable as Java's population continues to swell. In the next 15 years, the greater Jakarta area alone -- in the heart of Java -- is projected to grow by one-third, from 20 million to 30 million. Meanwhile, Irian Jaya, which is more than three times the size of Java, is home to fewer than four million people."
Last stand of the stone age. Julian Evans, The Guardian, August 24, 1996, p. T20, Lexis-Nexis. Long article about indigenous in Irian. - "It is accepted by impartial commentators - some UN observers, churchmen, historians - that when the Act of Free Choice was conducted in 1968, just before the deadline set by the UN, the 1,025 Papuan representatives of the regional councils who voted unanimously for integration with Indonesia did so under menace of having their tongues torn out or being personally shot by President Suharto's special envoy, a brigadier-general, if they demurred. The envoy boasted of the threat in a speech he made in West Papua."
- "Since the hostages' release, there have been rumours of large-scale troop assaults on villages and a planned offensive against OPM strongholds and refugee camps across the border in Papua New Guinea."
- "`Almost everyone's a tacit supporter of the OPM in that area,' he goes on. ... I offer the view that the country is in a state of war - a just war, with the right to shake off the Indonesians in favour of auto-determination, like neighbouring Papua New Guinea.'" Daniel Start (dstart@wawa.source.co.uk), one of the four now-released British hostages.
- "`It is not just Papuans; nobody in Indonesia is allowed to express their own local and very rich cultural identity. Indonesia, in the end, will be a very neutral photocopy of nothing.'" -- Father Theo van den Brock.
Indonesia: Suharto may win this battle, but not the war, Paula Dwyer, Business Week, August 26, 1996, p. 45. "After 31 years of authoritarian rule, ailing Indonesian President Suharto is looking more desperate with each passing day." ... "Bereft of popular support, Suharto is closing ranks with his military allies and weeding out possible opponents before the 1998 presidential election." ... "Jakarta is braced for repeats of the July riots that rocked the city."
Freeport chair filled by Loyola. John Pope, Times-Picayune, August 29, 1996. Lexis-Nexis. Loyola is using the money that Moffett donated but later asked to have returned after student protests near his home. "After a two-year search punctuated by fractious debate and even street protest, Loyola University has picked the founding director of the Louisiana Nature & Science Center to fill the chair in environmental communications endowed by Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Robert A. Thomas, 50, the Audubon Institute's vice president for environmental policy, will start work during the fall semester."
Report: Five died in Jakarta riots, 74 missing. CNN, Sept. 1, 1996. This report by Komnas Ham, the Indonesian Human Right Commission, is not inconsistent with the possibility that many more were killed in the July riots than the four or five the government admits to.
Peace activities acquitted. National Catholic Reporter, September 6, 1996. In Great Britain four peace activists who damaged a British Aerospace Hawk fighter destined for Indonesia were acquitted by a jury of the charge of conspiring to cause criminal damage. The defense was that they were using reasonable force to prevent a crime. The group had campaigned against the sale of the Hawk on the grounds that it would be used against the population of East Timor.
Delay in F-16 sale. Reuter. September 5, 1996. The Clinton administration has decided to delay until early next year sending a request to Congress to approve the sale of F-16s to Indonesia.
Chronicle Sues OPIC, Audrey Duff, Austin Chronicle, September 6, 1996. "On Wednesday, Sept. 4, The Austin Chronicle filed suit against the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). The move was the latest action taken by this paper in an effort to obtain records, photos, and other documents from the federal agency which last October cancelled its $100 million political risk insurance policy on Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold's mining operation in Irian Jaya, Indonesia."
Suharto concerned about report on missing persons. UPI, September 6. President Suharto has asked Komnas Ham, the Indonesian Human Rights Commission, to provide evidence to support its claim that 70+ people are still missing from the July rioting. (The official military report has been that 4 were killed in the riots, but early rumors hinted that many more were killed in the initial onslaught.)
Activist quizzed over kidnapping. Joe Leahy, South China Morning Post, September 6, 1996. Lexis-Nexis. "Tom Beanal, head of the Amungme Council in Timika, was interrogated for several hours this week and must report his movements to police pending further questioning." ... "Mr Beanal was unavailable for comment yesterday but Walhi chairman Enny Hafild revealed police said they had at least two letters from the kidnappers implicating Mr Beanal in the kidnapping." (Beanal is the plaintiff in a lawsuit against Freeport.) Another version, Indonesian Times, September 12, 1996.
Security clampdown in Irian. Rumors passed back via Steven Feld suggest that the military in Irian is monitoring many human rights groups in Irian with extreme care, making it very difficult for them to discover and/or report abuses. The US ambassasor to Indonesia cancelled a visit scheduled for 27 August because the monitoring was so heavy.
Durbin resigns. At the peak of the Moffett building battle earlier this year, UT President Berdahl appointed a faculty committee to draft a policy for the naming of buildings. Mathematics professor John Durbin, former Faculty Senate chair, was appointed chairman of this committee. At the Faculty Council meeting on September 16, 1996, President Berdahl stated that he had recently received from Professor Durbin a letter of resignation from the committee subsequent to meeting with Professor Durbin and rejecting a draft proposal by the committee calling for faculty approval of building namings. (First hand report by Robert S. Boyer, September 16, 1996.)
Earth First! continues campaign against Moffett. Ross Tomlin, Daily Texan, September 16, 1996.
UT professor quits board amid naming squabble. Mary Ann Roser, Austin American Stateman, September 19, 1996, p. B3. - "A leading faculty member at the University of Texas resigned this week as chairman of an advisory committee on fund-raising over the contentious issue of naming campus buildings. Math professor John Durbin said he quit the committee -- created last school year during the furor over naming a building for Freeport-McMoRan Chairman Jim Bob Moffett -- because of a disagreement about a key `check-and-balance' on the naming process."
- "Further, he (President Berdahl) said, `any time a committee would disagree it would be in the Austin American-Statesman, and that would absolutely destroy a relationship with a potential donor.'" (Is this the birth of a new argument against consultation on anything whatsoever? Controversy may become public and that could hurt people's feelings. -- rsb)
- "Just before Durbin sent the report to Berdahl last month, he learned the regents were about to rename the stadium the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Once again, it was being done with little discussion and no opportunity for veterans and other opposing the change to air their views, Durbin said." (For folks not in Austin, it is worth pointing out that Jim Bob Moffett once played football under ultra famous football coach Darrell K. Royal, who has often been seen attending legal proceedings involving SOS issues. -- rsb)
Freeport-McMoRan has cancelled an insurance policy it had with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), Robert Bryce, Austin Chronicle, September 20, 1996.
Freeport, saying Indonesia is stable, drops its insurance. Ralph K. M. Haurwitz, Austin American-Statesman, September 20, 1996, p. A1. "Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. has abruptly cancelled all political risk insurance for its huge mining operation in Indonesia, just weeks before a three-person team from the World Bank Group's insurance arm was to visit the mine to investigate environmental and human rights abuses." Notes that Freeport is not only dropping its MIGA but also its OPIC insurance. MIGA. (Just in case you want to know what MIGA, part of the World Bank, does.) Freeport explanation of the cancellation. "1.Maturity. PT-FI's operation has grown well beyond the limit of the policy. Our political risk insurance coverage represented less than 5% of our total investment in Indonesia. 2.Stability. The Government of Indonesia has had an unprecedented record of economic growth and stability over a 30-year period."
Committee head resigns over building naming. Carla Bass, Daily Texan, September 20, 1996.
Berdahl to seek input on building names. Andrea L. Flores, Daily Texan, Sept. 23, 1996.
Mine's problems on the scale of its activities ... and its profits, Bernard Estrade, Agence France Presse, September 27, 1996. Lexis-Nexis. Describing the tailings problem: "Work to repair the damage cannot really start before the mine ceases operation. By that time the affected area could be as wide as 250 square kilometres (100 square miles)."
Mining town `a powderkeg and everybody is smoking', Bernard Estrade, Agence France Presse, September 29, 1996. Lexis-Nexis. "In Timika, a frontier town set in the shadow of one of the world's largest copper and gold mines, located in Indonesia's eastern-most province of Irian Jaya (West Papua), the tension is palpable. `It's a powderkeg and everybody is smoking,' said one expatriate. ... (describes riots and kidnappings) ... Authorities also clamped down on scientific researchers working in the area. Restrictions on non-governmental organizations working with the region's 1.5 million indigenous people, some still living stone-age lifestyles, were tightened. Missionaries, the main source of medical care in the Irian Jaya (West Papua) were also restricted."
Drillbits and Tailings. Volume 1, Number 4, 9/18/96. "Regan (Tom Beanal's lawyer in the $6 billion lawsuit against Freeport) recently tried to visit his client in Indonesia, but was turned back by Indonesian police who escorted him to a hotel and continued to accompany him throughout his stay. At approximately the same time Tom Beanal was brought into his local police station and informed that `if you want to go to anywhere, for your safety, you should come to report to the police so that we can make sure of your safety.'"
Royal, rich join crowd at benefit; Longhorn faithful - dine on antelope, dream of victory in today's game. Suzanne Halliburton, Austin American Statesman, Sept. 21, 1996. "The party also kicked off UT's $30 million fund-raising drive to pay for renovations to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. More than $15 million already has been raised, with most of it generated through donations by a handful of party-goers, including lawyers Joe Jamail and Frank Denius and industrialist Jim Bob Moffett."
Courts surrounded as Megawati supporters charged. Sydney Morning Herald, October 10, 1996. "Police surrounded five Jakarta courtrooms yesterday as the Soeharto Government laid charges against scores of pro-democracy activists, showing its determination to curtail any form of political dissent."
Nobel peace prize to East Timor defenders. From Reuters. East Timor Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and East Timor's exiled resistance leader Jose Ramos-Horta have been jointly awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Oct. 11, 1996. CNN article.. The Nobel prize committee statement. Houston Chronicle article (if asked, give user id "houstonchronicle" with password "free").
Komnas Ham blames government. Reuter. Oct. 12, 1996. "Indonesia's official human rights watchdog Saturday linked the authorities to the start of a riot which rocked Jakarta in July and said five people died and 149 were injured in the violence. ... The human rights watchdog said there had been two phases to the events: a factional assault backed by the security forces on the headquarters of the minority Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), and subsequent rioting which it said was influenced by the violent takeover of the PDI building."
Jakarta condemns peace award to independence fighter; Riot report damns regime. Sydney Morning Herald, October 14, 1996.
Strange bedfellows. Reuters, Oct. 17, 1996. Speaker Newt Gingrich has come out in opposition to the sale of F-16s to Indonesia until after investigations have been completed into donations to the Clinton campaign from Indonesians which have come under suspicion.
About the F-16. U. S. Air Force. "In an air combat role, the F-16's maneuverability and combat radius (distance it can fly to enter air combat, stay, fight and return) exceed that of all potential threat fighter aircraft."
Freeport Opened Up in More Ways than One. Drillbits & Tailings, Volume 1, Number 6 October 22nd, 1996. Reports on a federal court subpoena for OPIC information about Freeport.
Freeport Falters , Robert Bryce, Austin Chronicle, November 1, 1996. "On the legal front, attorneys for Tom Beanal and Yosepha Alomang, two Amungme tribal members who have filed separate class action lawsuits against the company, are claiming success in court. According to sources close to the case, a U.S. District Court in New Orleans rejected Freeport's request that the two cases be joined in federal court, and ordered the Alomang case back to state district court. The Oct. 17 move is seen as a victory for Martin Regan, the attorney representing the two tribal members, because rules of evidence in state court are not as strict as those in federal court. Freeport lawyers are now fighting Regan's efforts to depose Jim Bob Moffett, CEO of Freeport Copper. Regan wants to put Moffett under oath and ask him about Freeport's environmental policies. In addition, Regan has subpoenaed OPIC for the agency's records from its 1994 environmental audit of the Freeport mine."
The federal suit filing. The state suit filing.
In the Field: Free at Last WWF's Mark van der Wal was held hostage in Irian Jaya (West Papua) for four months.". "Being back home is almost as unreal as being taken hostage" 5 November, 1996.
Congress will target rights abuse in Timor. Jennifer Hewett, Sydney Morning Herald, November 14, 1996. "Human rights in East Timor will be a focus of the new United States Congress, with the Republican Speaker, Mr Newt Gingrich, stressing that Congress has a clear obligation to hold hearings on the issue."
Molecular biology building vandalized? Nov. 14, 1996. Though not yet completed, the new molecular biology building on the UT campus has already been subjected to vandalism, or so it appears to me (rsb). About a week ago (or maybe more), several largish red circles appeared on the northern wall of the building. For several days now, or so it appears, a scaffold has been set up to support workers trying to remove the stains. My best guess is that someone threw something like baloons full of paint or dye at the wall. If this is indeed vandalism, it is disgraceful, not to mention counterproductive to the efforts of those attempting to protest this matter in a civil fashion.
UT Regents change rule on building naming. Austin American Statesman, November 15, 1996. "The regents also approved a new policy for naming buildings that no longer requires that the person for whom the building is being named be deceased."
Groups urge U.S. to press Suharto on human rights. Reuter, Nov. 21. - "Nine U.S. environmental and human rights groups urged Vice President Al Gore to protest to the Indonesian government against its threat to clamp down on local environmentalists, according to a letter released Thursday."
- "The complaint stemmed from press reports that the Indonesian government vowed this month to crack down on any group which it considered a threat, including the Indonesian Environmental Forum (WALHI). "
- "WALHI protested the operations of the Grasberg Copper and Gold mine in Irian Jaya (West Papua), run by New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc."
- "``Should the harassment of WALHI succeed in silencing its voice, it will send a devastating signal to citizens throughout the developing world that the United States will not stand by civic organizations whose views and democratic methods we claim to support,'' the groups, including Sierra Club and Amnesty International USA, told Gore."
Bishop Belo's Nobel Prize address. Freeport Doubletake. Texas Observer, December 20, 1996, p. 32. "Before he shamefacedly resigned last spring from the board of mining multinational Freeport-McMoRan, U. T. Chancellor Bill Cunningham urged Freeport critic and anthropologist Steven Feld to tour the Irian Jaya (West Papua) mine site to see Freeport's benevolence first hand. Feld (now based at U. C. - Santa Cruz) called Cunningham's bluff, and reports the following: ``In a cordial series of exchanges, Freeport Jakarta encouraged me to `formally' apply to them for an official mine tour, and I did. Their environmental V. P. responded that after reviewing the files -- provided by Freeport New Orleans -- of things I had written or said, that it would be `pointless' to allow me to visit the site.'' Adds Feld wryly: ``White man speak with forked tongue.''"
Why Indonesia's biggest industries leave the wetlands bald; Asia's lung, the world's largest tract of rainforest outside Brazil, is rapidly shrinking. . Louise Williams, Sydney Morning Herald, December 14, 1996. "A significant exception to the new rules banning further logging concessions and limiting the expansion of sawmills and plywood factories is the eastern province of Irian Jaya (West Papua). The forests of Irian Jaya (West Papua) are widely known for their biological diversity and vulnerability. The towering central mountains support the world's only tropical glacier which has recently been found to be shrinking because of mining and forestry activities. Three years ago, only 7 per cent of Indonesia's logging concessions were in Irian Jaya (West Papua), one of the last pristine wilderness areas left on Earth. Now 18 per cent of logging concessions are on Irian Jaya (West Papua), classified by the Government as a "more sustainable area" for forestry."
Salamanders Dying as Endangered Debate Continues. Robert Bryce, Austin Chronicle, December 14, 1996. Mentions Freeport, Moffett, Riady.
Islands on Fire. A new video by Maria Luisa Mendona and Medea Benjamin. 1-800-497-1994. "This video documents the appalling human rights abuses in Indonesia and East Timor stemming from the July 1996 government crackdown, the worst in the three decades of General Suharto's military dictatorship. It highlights the courageous efforts of the opposition movement to bring democratic change to Indonesia and East Timor. The documentary also exposes how U.S. companies exploit Indonesian labor, in particular the US-owned Nike corporation. Scenes inside the factory and inside a typical factory worker's hovel are contrasted with towering skyscrapers and multinational businesses."
Salamander Deaths Add to Debate Over Protection. Robert Bryce, New York Times, December 16, 1996, p. A-11. "The deaths of 12 rare salamanders near Austin's most famous swimming hole is adding to the debate over enforcement of the Endangered Species Act and whether states can take the necessary steps to save rare species. ... A spokesman for (Gov) Bush, Ray Sullivan, said the governor was
`concerned that the federal government may be, in the wake of the election, thinking of reneging on that deal, and he certainly hopes that they do not.'"
