BY BOB BURTON
The Australian government has defended its embassy officials in Jakarta who lobbied Indonesian security forces and officials to deal with "illegal miners" at an Australian-owned mine. In three separate incidents after the lobbying commenced, two people were killed and another five injured.
Controversy over the lobbying activities of the Australian embassy erupted after shooting incidents by the notorious Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in June and August 2001 and January 2002 at the Mt Muro mine in central Kalimantan, owned by the Perth-based company Aurora Gold.
Aurora Gold and its predecessors have encountered local opposition to large-scale mining over concerns about the obliteration of traditional small scale mines, past abuses by security forces and pollution. Aurora chairperson Rory Argyle has acknowledged that the collapse of the Indonesian economy has forced many people to turn to what the company calls "illegal mining" as "a means of survival". However, Aurora's economic survival was also tied to the Mt Muro mine, its only source of cash.
In answers to parliamentary questions by Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown, Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer, revealed that since November 1999 embassy officials in Jakarta have worked with Aurora Gold representatives in lobbying Indonesian officials and security forces to eject "illegal" miners entering the Mt Muro mine.
Downer insisted that the embassy officials stressed that the difficulties Aurora, a signatory to the Minerals Council of Australia's voluntary Code for Environmental Management, was having with "illegal miners" should be resolved "in a peaceful manner".
Despite embassy officials being aware of the deaths and injuries from the military crackdown, no inquiries were made of either Aurora or Indonesian police until after Senator Brown asked a series of questions in February 2002.
On November 2, 1999, Aurora Gold representatives briefed the then-Australian ambassador, John McCarthy, about their concerns. Just over two weeks later, McCarthy met the Indonesian mining minister to discuss concerns of Australian mining companies, including Aurora's "problems with illegal mining".
A follow-up meeting was held on March 2, 2000, in Jakarta with the governor of central Kalimantan, the regent of the local regency, police and military officials. Embassy staff also attended "as observers, at the request of Aurora Gold". According to Downer, embassy staff "highlighted the damage to investor confidence in Indonesia if the government was unable to honour contracts of work and resolve the Mt Muro dispute".
The following day, Aurora welcomed assurances from Indonesian government officials that "illegal" miners would be removed.
On May 25, 2001, Richard Smith, who had taken over from McCarthy as ambassador in January 2001, visited the Mt Muro operations at the invitation of Joe Ariti, president director of Aurora Gold Indonesia.
Smith addressed a meeting of provincial government officials and, according to Downer, stressed "the importance of upholding the law, including laws relating to illegal occupation of mining leases and theft, at Australian-owned mining operations in Indonesia to ensure an environment in which Australian investors could operate in accordance with their contracts of work".
Brimob shootings
On June 5, 2001, Brimob members shot at a group of small-scale miners scavenging in the waste rock dumps at the Kerikil mine, one of a number of pits at the Mt Muro mine site. Fleeing the Brimob, six of the miners entered a flooded mine. From the pit edge, Brimob members continued firing and threw stones at the trapped miners, killing two of them. Another three were injured, one crippled as a result of being shot in the knee.
Aurora's then company secretary, Michael Baud, later claimed that the deaths "were drownings by people who were operating illegally in the mine and fell in to the water at the bottom of a disused pit and drowned". According to Downer, while the ambassador was aware of media reports of the incident no attempt was made to obtain information from either Indonesian government officials or Aurora. Nor, wrote Downer, did Aurora inform embassy staff of the incident.
Despite the killings, desperate miners continued their scavenging operations. Early on August 27, 2001, Brimob fired three shots at a group of small boys scavenging in the Kerikil pit. One teenage boy was shot and disabled by a bullet passing through one of his legs and entering the other. According to Downer, "the ambassador was aware of media reports of the incident" but made no inquiries of either Indonesian government officials or Aurora Gold. Downer insisted Aurora did not inform the Australian embassy of the incident.
In a further incident on January 17 this year, a police officer shot and seriously wounded a 20-year-old man who was searching through waste rock at the Kerikil mine site. The man's two companions, who fled after the shooting, reported that he was shot in the head at close range. After the shooting, protests resulted in the pit being occupied for a day.
A January 24 media release by the Sydney-based Mineral Policy Institute sparked media coverage by the Australian Financial Review and ABC's Asia Pacific program. According to Downer, it was not until five days later that Aurora advised the Australian ambassador of the incident. According to Downer, the ambassador took no further action. However, two weeks after the shooting and protests in Indonesia, authorities announced that Brimob would be recalled from the mine site.
The Australian embassy in Indonesia only began inquiries into the series of shootings after Brown tabled questions in the Senate on February 18. Nine days later, the Australian embassy "sought clarification" from the Indonesian police force about "the reported incidents". On March 5, Aurora sent a written briefing to the ambassador on the incidents at the mine.
Despite the controversy, Downer saw no need to review the role of embassy officials in the affair. "At no stage did the ambassador or embassy officials request Indonesian government authorities act other than in a peaceful manner, in accordance with Indonesian law. In this context, the minister does not consider a departmental review necessary", Downer informed parliament.
Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto, a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact promising to voluntarily uphold international human rights standards, is also embroiled in the controversy. In November 2000, Rio Tinto took over Ashton Mining in order to control all of the Argyle diamond mine. As a by-product of the deal, Rio Tinto gained a 35% stake in Aurora.
In February 2001, Rio Tinto appointed the managing director of Argyle Diamonds, Gordon Gilchrist, to Aurora's board. Gilchrist remained on the board until Rio Tinto sold its shares in October 2001.
While Rio Tinto was a major shareholder in Aurora, two of the shootings occurred in June and August 2001 resulting in two deaths. Rio Tinto guidelines on dealing with human rights abuses at projects where it is not the manager, state "we should ... make clear that Rio Tinto strongly disapproves of human rights violations of employees or local people, and press for investigation and prosecution if credible allegations arise".
Mining Monitor repeatedly contacted Rio Tinto's media spokesperson, Ian Head, requesting clarification on whether Rio Tinto staff had contacted Australian embassy officials, Indonesian officials or Aurora about the incidents at Mt Muro while it was a major shareholder and had been a director on the board of Aurora. Head has not responded.
[From Mining Monitor, journal of the Mining Policy Institute, Visit <http://www.mpi.org.au>.]
From Green Left Weekly, August 14, 2002.
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