West Papua Human Rights : A Brief History.
- The Grasberg mine in West Papua is the largest gold mine and 3rd largest copper mine in the world.
- Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) own ~90% in the mine, the Indonesian gov the remainder
- Freeport was founded in 1912 in Texas USA
- In 1928 Payne Whitney collaborated to take control of the company
- Dec 1949 Indonesian Revolution ends
- 1949 all territories of Dutch East Indies company granted sovereignty, except West Papua
- 1950 The Dutch agreed to Independence but where pressured by the Kennedy Administration to transfer West Papua to Indonesia
- 1960 Freeport geologists confirmed the Dutch discovery of gold & copper
- 1962 The Dutch relinquish to the UN per the “New York Agreement” which required a plebiscite on Independence prior to 1969
- 1966, Freeport negotiated a contract with the Indonesian government
- 1996 Dames & More environmental audit showed 28km^2 rain forest “severely impacted” and 3.2 billion tonnes of acid rock dumped in local river and over burden has polluted a nearby lake. The report was endorsed by Freeport
- 1969 The Indonesian Military organise the “Act of Free Choice” which involved 1025 hand picked people (less than 1% of population) held at gunpoint and forced to vote for Integration with Indonesia, in violation of the Dutch agreement with the UN
- 1969 The Free Papua Movement (OPM) was formed as a result of the disputed vote.
- Feb 2003 West Papua (Irian Jaya Barat ) was separated from the rest of Papua
- Feb 2007 Renames to Papua Barat (West Papua)
- Nov 2004 Indonesian Court rules the split violates Papua laws but agreed it should remain now the split had taken place.
- 2005 the NYT reported on $20m being paid between 1998 & 2004 to local military, police, and other officials to secure the mine. Also claims James R Moffet courted and made deals with Indonesia’s Dictator & staff and claims wire tapping of environmentalists by the Indonesian military
- In Dec 2015 James Moffett stepped down as Chairman with $63m in payments. Moffett was replace by Gerald J Ford
Other board members have included John Hay Whitney, Kidder, Peabody & Co., Chauncey Stillman, Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller, Augustus Long, Robert A. Lovett, Jean Mauzé, Henry Kissinger and George Putnam.
Freeport is a participant of the “Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights”
Freeport has been accused of funding the Indonesian Military to secure the mine by oppression of native peoples.
Papuans accuse Indonesian Military of indiscriminate violence and suppression of freedoms of expression
Over 500,000 have been killed and thousands more raped tortured and imprisoned by the Military since 1969
Papua is described as a Police State and foreign access is restricted
Whitney attended Yale where he was a member of Skull and Bones
The group Skull and Bones is featured in conspiracy theories, which claim that the society plays a role in a global conspiracy for world control.
Follow The Money ..... and down the rabbit hole we go!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_conflict
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payne_Whitney
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_and_Bones