West Papua Border Mission May/June 2006

SECURITY ASSESSMENT & INTELLIGENCE PROFILE

Executive Summary
Nick Chesterfield compiled this report as a result of fieldwork he undertook from May 14 to 14 June 2006 on behalf of the Free West Papua campaign in Australia. The work was funded by grassroots donations from Australia.

For too long the security and human rights issues present along the border of the Papua Niugini and West Papua have been ignored at the strategic peril of countries in the region. In abandoning those who fought so hard for our freedom in World War 2, we have missed out on a genuine opportunity to stop displacement of our neighbours, and to genuinely combat terrorism on our doorstep.

Download
the Document

GUNS, CORRUPTION, ILLEGAL LOGGING, JI & THE INDONESIAN MILITARY IN PAPUA NIUGINI

A PNG INVESTIGATION INTO CROSS-BORDER ISSUES; CORRUPTION, RIMBUNAN-HIJAU, GUN SMUGGLING, AND MUCH MORE.... (OR “TASMANIA ISN’T THE ONLY PLACE WHERE GUNS AND TIMBER GO TOGETHER”)

"This eye-opening report paints a disturbing picture of the situation in the north-west border provinces of Papua New Guinea involving corruption, gun-smuggling, illegal logging, sex slavery and the JI.

One prominent mining company which has faced
controversy for its relationship with state security forces in
a conflict zone is Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
This US company controls a gigantic mine in Indonesia
which contains the largest gold reserves and the second
largest copper reserves in the world. The Grasberg mine in
Indonesia’s eastern region of Papua, formerly known as
Irian Jaya, is run by a local subsidiary called PT Freeport

WALHI report on Freeport-Rio Tinto
Related link

WALHI Freeport Report, Part 1 (Acrobat file - 1.6 mb)

WALHI Freeport Report, Part 2 (Acrobat file - 2.4 mb)

The complete report is available for download in two parts on the right >

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report presents a new and independent picture of the environmental impacts of the Freeport mine, a Freeport McMoRan and Rio Tinto joint venture, which although one of the largest mines in the world, operates under a shroud of secrecy in remote Papua province.

The report details a series of concerns which, if not acted upon, may pose serious threats to the survival of the indigenous people of the Indonesian province of Papua. It covers the threats posed by the Indonesian military to the province’s stability, the recent increase in large scale military campaigns which are decimating highland tribal communities, the HIV/AIDS explosion and persistent Papuan underdevelopment in the face of a rapid and threatening demographic transition in which the Papuans face becoming a minority in their own land.