In February 1995, Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto announced three deals that secured access into Grasberg, a massive gold and copper mine in the Indonesian province of West Papua. This is the story of why the mine has been deemed “gorssly unethical” by the Norwegian government.
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WEST PAPUA
West Papua: How to lose a country
When Julia Gillard meet Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono in Bali on the weekend West Papua barely got a mention. Although the text messages inside West Papua went into overdrive with the rumour that the reason Australia and the United States were stationing 2,500 U.S Marines in Darwin was to prepare for military intervention in West Papua. I told my friends in West Papua it wasn’t true, writes Jason Macleod.
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Benny Wenda: Indonesia’s silent genocide
The Australian Government has so far refused to condemn the ongoing human rights abuses in West Papua. Worse still, they continue to arm and train the deadly Indonesian Detachment 88 forces, who are responsible for some of the most grave acts of torture against my people, says exiled Independence leader Benny Wenda.
READ MOREAustralia should say sorry to West Papua
Australia has a long history with the people of West Papua, culminating in a decision by the John Gorton government on May 29, 1969. As I argue below, Australia betrayed the people of Papua at that time, and now Prime Minister Julia Gillard must seriously consider issuing a formal apology to its indigenous people.
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