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Freeport's war in West Papua14 November 1995
By Dom Bromilow John Ondawarme and Matthew Jamieson spoke about the movement for a free West Papua at a November 7 meeting, co-sponsored by Resistance and the Australia West Papua Association. They said that, while the establishment media had largely ignored West Papua, the environmental destruction at the Freeport mine is comparable to that at Ok Tedi. Jamieson showed slides graphically illustrating the destruction of the Ajikwa River below Freeport mine where 100,000 tonnes of tailings are dumped per day. One slide showed a crater where the 3500-metre Grasberg Mountain had once been. The US-based company Freeport-MacMoRan recently expanded its concessions in West Papua to 3.6 million hectares. The Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) have been "protecting" the mining companies against claims by indigenous owners. One thousand ABRI troops, stationed in the Ajikwa River area, are constantly carrying out search and destroy missions. Since May 100 people have been killed in clashes over mining concessions. Peaceful protests have been violently attacked by ABRI on the grounds that they were organised by the Free Papua Movement (OPM). Eyewitness reports tell of people being tortured until they "admit" they are with the OPM. The most recent pressure stems from the cancelling of Freeport-MacMoRan's insurance coverage due to instability in the region. MacMoRan, Indonesia's largest taxpayer, has asked for more extensive protection. The struggle against Freeport-MacMoRan is only part of the struggle for self-determination by the West Papuan people. The grand plan of Indonesia's Suharto regime is to turn West Papua into three provinces -- south east, north east and west. To this end 3 million transmigrants, mainly Javanese farmers, have been sent to West Papua, tripling the population and placing enormous pressure on the land and culture of indigenous groups. The meeting was also told about the recent joint protests of Muslim and West Papuan students calling for self determination.
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