1) Your letters: Human rights
violations in Papua
2) ‘Rich’ Papua cop to face
trial soon
3) Freeport looking to process ore
locally
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1) Your letters: Human rights violations in Papua
The Jakarta Post | Readers Forum | Sat, July 27 2013, 1:03 PM
Although it was disappointing that the issue of membership for West Papua at the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Summit in Noumea was deferred, a number of decisions by the leaders of the MSG in relation to West Papua are to be welcomed and should be considered a success for the West Papuan people.
In the official MSG Communiqué it stated that the leaders endorsed that the MSG fully supported the inalienable rights of the people of West Papua toward self-determination, as provided for under the preamble of the MSG constitution.
They also endorsed that the concerns of the MSG regarding human rights violations and other forms of atrocities relating to the West Papuan people be raised with the Indonesian government bilaterally and as a group.
There was also a lot of media coverage in the region (before and during) the MSG Summit in relation to the issue of West Papua and hopefully this interest by the media in West Papua will continue. It is also encouraging that the MSG will go on a fact-finding mission to West Papua. The media can play a role in this by hopefully being allowed by the authorities to accompany the fact-finding mission as a way of showing the openness of the process. However, this does not seem likely.
Joe Collins
Sydney
In the official MSG Communiqué it stated that the leaders endorsed that the MSG fully supported the inalienable rights of the people of West Papua toward self-determination, as provided for under the preamble of the MSG constitution.
They also endorsed that the concerns of the MSG regarding human rights violations and other forms of atrocities relating to the West Papuan people be raised with the Indonesian government bilaterally and as a group.
There was also a lot of media coverage in the region (before and during) the MSG Summit in relation to the issue of West Papua and hopefully this interest by the media in West Papua will continue. It is also encouraging that the MSG will go on a fact-finding mission to West Papua. The media can play a role in this by hopefully being allowed by the authorities to accompany the fact-finding mission as a way of showing the openness of the process. However, this does not seem likely.
Joe Collins
Sydney
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The Jakarta Post | National | Sat, July 27 2013, 9:27 AM
2) ‘Rich’ Papua cop to face trial soon
The Papua Police have completed the dossiers of officer Adj. First Insp. Labora Sitorus, who has been accused of running illegal logging and fuel smuggling businesses worth billions of rupiah.
The police submitted Labora’s case file to the Papua Prosecutors Office on Friday.
National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto said on Friday that Labora faced charges of money-laundering, illegal logging and fuel smuggling. “We have questioned 39 witnesses in the fuel smuggling case, 67 witnesses in the illegal logging case and 28 witnesses in the money laundering case,” he said in Jakarta.
The Labora case first emerged in May following the leak of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) stating that a low-ranking officer known as AEW was linked to bank transactions totaling Rp 1 trillion (US$102 million). Later on, the Papua Police found that Labora and his family controlled some companies that illegally sold timber and subsidized fuel.
Agus said that Labora would be charged under the 1999 law on forestry, the 2001 Papua Special Autonomy Law and Money Laundering Law No. 25/2003 and No. 8/2010.
The police submitted Labora’s case file to the Papua Prosecutors Office on Friday.
National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto said on Friday that Labora faced charges of money-laundering, illegal logging and fuel smuggling. “We have questioned 39 witnesses in the fuel smuggling case, 67 witnesses in the illegal logging case and 28 witnesses in the money laundering case,” he said in Jakarta.
The Labora case first emerged in May following the leak of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) stating that a low-ranking officer known as AEW was linked to bank transactions totaling Rp 1 trillion (US$102 million). Later on, the Papua Police found that Labora and his family controlled some companies that illegally sold timber and subsidized fuel.
Agus said that Labora would be charged under the 1999 law on forestry, the 2001 Papua Special Autonomy Law and Money Laundering Law No. 25/2003 and No. 8/2010.
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3) Freeport looking to process ore locally
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Sat, July 27 2013, 11:02 AM
Giant gold and copper producer PT Freeport Indonesia is contemplating the possibility of processing its mineral ores at local existing smelters so it can continue exporting.
The move is in line with the government’s demand — as stipulated in the 2009 Mining Law — for the subsidiary of US-based Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold Inc., as well as gold and copper miner PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, another US-based firm, to process their ores locally or face an export ban.
The law bans mining firms from exporting unprocessed ore from 2014 and requires the firms to build local smelters or to cooperate with smelting companies to process the ore. The legislation aims to help develop the downstream industry.
On Friday, Freeport president director Rozik Soetjipto, accompanied by independent commissioner Marzuki Darusman, met Industry Minister MS Hidayat to convey the miner’s readiness to carry out a feasibility study through Hess Corporation, another US-based firm.
“They spoke of preparations for supply agreements with three national companies, starting with a memorandum of understanding [MoU] scheduled to be signed in August,” said Hidayat, adding that the company promised to finish the study in six months.
“We should enforce the law without any exception. No company will be excluded from the rule.”
Freeport, along with Newmont, has refused to establish its own smelters because it would not be economically feasible.
According to Soetjipto, the three local copper smelters that are in talks with Freeport are PT Nusantara Smelting, PT Indosmelt and PT Indovasi Mineral Indonesia.
Currently, Freeport processes around half of its copper concentrate at PT Smelting Gresik’s smelter in Gresik, East Java, the smelter processes about 30 percent of Newmont’s copper output.
Hidayat said discussions had also covered divestment, a program that is in line with Freeport’s contract.
Indonesia currently owns a 9.36-percent stake in Freeport Indonesia. (asw)
The move is in line with the government’s demand — as stipulated in the 2009 Mining Law — for the subsidiary of US-based Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold Inc., as well as gold and copper miner PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, another US-based firm, to process their ores locally or face an export ban.
The law bans mining firms from exporting unprocessed ore from 2014 and requires the firms to build local smelters or to cooperate with smelting companies to process the ore. The legislation aims to help develop the downstream industry.
On Friday, Freeport president director Rozik Soetjipto, accompanied by independent commissioner Marzuki Darusman, met Industry Minister MS Hidayat to convey the miner’s readiness to carry out a feasibility study through Hess Corporation, another US-based firm.
“They spoke of preparations for supply agreements with three national companies, starting with a memorandum of understanding [MoU] scheduled to be signed in August,” said Hidayat, adding that the company promised to finish the study in six months.
“We should enforce the law without any exception. No company will be excluded from the rule.”
Freeport, along with Newmont, has refused to establish its own smelters because it would not be economically feasible.
According to Soetjipto, the three local copper smelters that are in talks with Freeport are PT Nusantara Smelting, PT Indosmelt and PT Indovasi Mineral Indonesia.
Currently, Freeport processes around half of its copper concentrate at PT Smelting Gresik’s smelter in Gresik, East Java, the smelter processes about 30 percent of Newmont’s copper output.
Hidayat said discussions had also covered divestment, a program that is in line with Freeport’s contract.
Indonesia currently owns a 9.36-percent stake in Freeport Indonesia. (asw)
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