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Viewing cable 06JAKARTA2492, FREEPORT PAPUA MINE CLOSED BY ILLEGAL MINERS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06JAKARTA2492 2006-02-23 23:50 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Jakarta
VZCZCXRO7106
RR RUEHCHI RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #2492 0542350
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 232350Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0091
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS JAKARTA 002492 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS AND EB/IFD/OIA 
COMMERCE FOR 4430/GOLIKE 
DOE FOR TOM CUTLER/PI-32 AND JANE NAKANO/PI-42 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EMIN ENIV PGOV ID
SUBJECT: FREEPORT PAPUA MINE CLOSED BY ILLEGAL MINERS 
 
REF: JAKARTA 1185 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary.  Approximately 400 illegal miners in Papua 
launched a picket of Freeport-McMoRan,s Grasberg Mine on 
February 21, forcing its temporary closure for the past 48 
hours.  As of COB February 23, the mine remained closed. In a 
separate but perhaps related incident, at approximately 04:00 
on 23 February about 30 Papuan students attacked the building 
in which Freeport rents space for its Jakarta office.  None 
was injured.  It is unclear whether the two incidents are 
related to the recent, controversial New York Times reports 
on Freeport,s payments to the Indonesian armed forces for 
security services.  End summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) On February 21, approximately 400 illegal miners in 
Papua launched a picket of Freeport-McMoRan,s Grasberg Mine, 
forcing its closure through COB February 23.  Some of the 
illegal miners fired arrows at police and Freeport employees 
on February 21, resulting in six injured.  The illegal miners 
sift through mine tailings looking for minute traces of 
copper and gold, a practice the company discourages because 
the illegal miners use harmful chemicals to leach out the 
minerals.  Freeport is concerned about the legal liability 
for the environmental damage that illegal miners cause, as 
well as the possibility of exposing themselves to public 
relations attacks for contributing, even if only indirectly, 
to harming the environment. 
 
3. (U) The picket began when Indonesian security forces 
attempted to evict the miners on February 21.  The miners are 
requesting a meeting with Freeport managers and the mayor of 
Timika, the local town around the mine.  Freeport Chairman 
Jim Bob Moffett told the Ambassador in a February 23 
telephone call that his first priority is the safety of his 
employees, and that Freeport has requested that the 
Indonesian police do everything possible to resolve the 
stand-off in a peaceful manner. 
 
4.  (U) In a separate but perhaps related incident, at 
approximately 04:00 on February 23 about 30 Papuan students 
attacked the building in which Freeport rents space for its 
Jakarta office.  The attackers broke some of the building,s 
ground floor windows and damaged the main security post, 
according to a Freeport spokesman.  The incident got coverage 
on local early morning TV news programs, suggesting a well 
orchestrated publicity stunt. 
 
5.  (SBU) Moffett said Freeport is certain that the mine 
protest was "bought and paid for" by someone, but the company 
is not sure who signed the check.  They are also unsure of 
the connection, if any, with the incident at their offices in 
Jakarta last night.  Senior Vice President Dan Bowman told us 
that the timing of the two incidents is unlikely to be 
coincidental.  Bowman said they are also unsure if a 
connection exists between the two recent incidents and the 
recent New York Times stories on Freeport,s payments to the 
TNI and police.  He also said it is unclear whether 
Freeport,s opponents in Indonesia are independently taking 
the opportunity to score public relations victories, or 
perhaps seeking payoffs to end the protests, or whether the 
two events are part of an orchestrated campaign by powerful 
economic nationalists to drive the company out of Indonesia 
and obtain the ten percent Government of Indonesia equity 
stake in the Papua mine on the cheap.  (see reftel). 
 
6.  (U) The mine protest has attracted significant local 
press attention and increasing international media interest. 
On 23 February, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reportedly 
announced that he has ordered Minister of Energy and Mineral 
Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro to coordinate with security 
officials to resolve the mine dispute, saying he feared a 
loss of national income and royalty payments if the mines 
stay closed. 
 
PASCOE