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!