Economy & debt

Down to Earth No 57  May 2003


The US mining company Freeport McMoRan has been forced to reveal how much protection money it pays to the Indonesian military and police.

Security forces paid to guard the Freeport/Rio Tinto-owned gold and copper mine in West Papua, stand accused of involvement in human rights violations, including extra-judicial killings, disappearances, torture, and rape.

Down to Earth No 57 May 2003

Two studies commissioned by BP have highlighted serious concerns over the impact of the planned Tangguh gas project in West Papua.

BP has announced the findings of two studies it commissioned to examine the potential impacts of the Tangguh gas project in Bintuni Bay, West Papua, on human rights, local communities and the environment.

Down to Earth No 57  May 2003


Indigenous Peoples walked out of a meeting with the British government aid agency, DFID, in March, in response to a controversial statement by a senior Indonesian government forestry official.

Around a hundred people from indigenous groups, local communities and supporting organisations refused to continue DFID's second annual Multi-stakeholder Forestry Programme meeting in Yogyakarta following comments by the Indonesian forestry ministry's secretary general.

Down to Earth No 57  May 2003


Indonesia's most prominent environmental group, WALHI, and a number of other NGOs have rejected funding from the USAID, DFID and AusAID, because of their governments' war against Iraq.

WALHI announced it would sever ties with the American, British and Australian government aid agencies in a public statement issued March 24th, which condemned the coalition's invasion of Iraq as a crime against humanity.

Down to Earth No 56  February 2003


Pulp firms rank among Indonesia's most financially-troubled companies. They include the most deeply indebted of all, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), currently attempting to restructure its whopping US$13.9 billion debt with international creditors. APP, Indonesia's biggest pulp producer, has been singled out in a new report by New York-based group, Human Rights Watch, for being complicit in a series of human rights abuses against local people opposing its operations.

A Down to Earth Special Report, June 2002

Written by Liz Chidley, edited by Carolyn Marr
and produced with the support of
Forest Peoples Programme and
Rainforest Foundation

Down to Earth No 52 February 2002

BP currently joint owns and manages Indonesia's biggest coal mine. It has 50% of the shares in PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), a massive open cast mine near Sangatta, East Kutai district, East Kalimantan province. The Anglo-Australian mining giant, Rio Tinto, owns the other 50%. KPC is currently embroiled in a power struggle with the local authorities as, under the initial agreement, this foreign-owned company must sell off 51% of its shares to Indonesian parties [1].