Human rights

Down to Earth No. 45, May 2000

West Papua is facing an explosive political situation: Papuan independence leaders have been given more freedom to meet and express their demands than ever before during Indonesian rule, but this is happening against a background of continued political oppression and Jakarta's outright refusal to discuss independence.

Down to Earth No. 45, May 2000

Indigenous communities whose forests have been plundered by logging companies are demanding compensation for the damage. Deprived of the protection they enjoyed under former President Suharto, the companies are having to take them seriously.

Down to Earth No. 45, May 2000

Heavily armed police arrested eleven villagers on March 14th at Aurora Gold's Serjuan mine site in Central Kalimantan. According to an Indonesian NGO report, the villagers - including three children aged between 10 and 12 years - were taken at gun-point into company vehicles and driven to the company's camp. Nine of them, including the children, were then transferred to the North Barito police headquarters at Muara Teweh.

Down to Earth No. 45, May 2000

PT Inco Indonesia, subsidiary of Canada-based Inco Ltd, has come under fire from indigenous communities and the local government over the company's nickel mining operations in Sulawesi.

Down to Earth No 45 May 2000


NGOs protest US meddling

Indonesian NGOs have protested against pressure by the US Embassy in Jakarta to cut the funding of JATAM, the mining advocacy network. A joint statement defends JATAM's call for a moratorium on mining and supports the organisation's advocacy work on Newmont, the US-based company operating the Ratatotok gold mine in North Sulawesi).

Down to Earth No. 44, February 2000

A crisis in the oil palm industry is making a mockery of predictions that exports of the crop will help haul Indonesia out of its economic woes.

Export orders for Indonesian palm oil products fell sharply when the first shipment of palm oil, contaminated with diesel oil, was rejected by buyers in the Netherlands in October last year.