Secessionists accuse TNI of false propaganda, deny killings

1) Secessionists accuse TNI of false propaganda, deny killing civilian

2) Indonesia's mixed military ties

3) Freeport Indonesia Considers IPO

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/07/04/secessionists-accuse-tni-false-propaganda-deny-killing-civilian.html

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1) Secessionists accuse TNI of false propaganda, deny killing civilian

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura | Archipelago | Wed, July 04 2012, 7:04 AM

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A leader of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) admitted to having fired gunshots at a military motorcade but denied any role in the latest civilian death.

“If this is about the shooting of the battalion commander of the 431/Kostrad [Col. Indarto] ... yes, my men spied on him since dawn and shot him before they retreated,” Lambert Peukikir told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Tuesday.

Indarto was on his way back from inspecting his soldiers when his car became the target of a barrage of gunfire on Sunday. He escaped the attack, but his driver sustained an injury from the car’s broken window.

Some 300 meters behind them, Yohanes Yanafrom, the head of Sawoi Tami village, Keerom regency, lay dead with local authorities blaming the secessionist movement under Lambert’s command.

Lambert denied responsibility for Yohanes’ shooting, claiming that the deceased was an OPM member.

He said that on June 29, Yohanes came to see him at the group’s headquarters and handed Rp 300,000 (US$33), which Lambert later used to buy some things, including phone credits.

“At that moment, I told Pak Yohanes to stay behind closed doors on July 1 because I had made plans to go into action that day,” he said.

On Friday morning, Lambert said, his men snuck into the street between Sawoi Tami and Workwana village. Yohanes happened to be on the road at around 9 a.m. on his way from Sawoi Tami to Workmana.

Lambert’s men stopped him and urged him to go back to his village. “My men knew him because they were in the same troop,” he said.

Several minutes later, Col. Indarto came down the street and his car was strafed with gunfire.

“Five minutes later, we heard that Pak Yohanes was gunned down. But the question is who shot him?” Lambert said.

According to an informant, Lambert continued, there was another car following Indarto’s car.

He suspected that the police had targeted Yohanes because he was a member of OPM.

“Every Papuan wants freedom. So did Yohanes, but he was too scared to express his feelings. Therefore, even though he was a village head, he was still a member of OPM,” said Lambert.

In a bid to uncover the truth, Lambert encouraged the formation of an independent team to conduct an investigation, instead on playing the blame game. “If they do not make a move, people will continue blaming OPM.

Lambert pledged to continue fighting until a dialogue was initiated, mediated by an international body, between the government and the Papuans.

Ruben Magai, the speaker of Papuan Legislative Council (DPRP) said that the accusations against TPN/OPM over the shooting would have to be proven in order to ensure that people were not misled.

“We have heard so much on the news that the perpetrators are members of OPM or unidentified people. There has been such a stigma against OPM. It is time to prove it to ensure trust among people,” he said.

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http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-07-04/indonesias-mixed-military-ties/973312

2) Indonesia's mixed military ties

Posted 4 July 2012, 15:47 AEST

Indonesia and Australia's leaders this week have signed deals on defence cooperation, and Australia has gifted Indonesia with four refurbished heavy transport aircraft.

While Australia and Indonesia are strengthening their military ties, other nations, such as the Dutch are concerned by the Indonesian military's dismal human rights track record. (Credit: Reuters)

But as Australia's military ties with Indonesia grow stronger, other western nations are keeping their distance.

Indonesia has had to pull out of a $280 million deal to buy 100 battle tanks from the Netherlands after waiting several months for the Dutch parliament to approve the sale.

Dutch media reports that the majority of parties in the Dutch parliament opposed the deal because of Jakarta's poor human rights record.

Peter King, a research associate in international relations from the University of Sydney spoke to Radio Australia's Connect Asia. He says that the Dutch's concern with human rights in Indonesia harks back to their historical relationship with the region.

"Well the Dutch have been very sensitive to human rights violations in Jakarta. I think there is a historical reason for that." he said.

"They themselves mucked up the whole West Papua issue during their own colonial administration, they held it back from Indonesia and then in the end had to give in to international pressure."

"So they compensate that by kind of indicating that being forced to hand West Papua to Indonesia, even in this post Suharto democratic period has been a risky business because the army continues to dominate affairs so much in West Papua.

The United States and the European Union have similarly imposed military embargoes on Indonesia, says Peter King, for example, those imposed after massacres committed by the Indonesian military in 1991 and 1991.

The US reinstated military sales to Indonesia in 2006, supported by Australia.

"It wasn't a very good idea because the army has continued to abusive, particularly in Aceh for a time, but Aceh got autonomy and a proper peace deal in 2005."

"In West Papua the human rights violations by the military and the police have continued."

Australia has pursued a strategy of working with the Indonesian military with the hope of improving its record on human rights issues that way. But Mr King says the continuing power of the military in Indonesia is a danger to its democracy.

"I think it is long term danger for Indonesian democracy that the military hasn't been brought in to line on these human rights issues, particularly in West Papua now," he said.

"The Government has just been too reluctant to give up its use of military force to get its way in West Papua. It needs to negotiate with the West Papuans rather than use the so-called security approach."

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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/corporatenews/freeport-indonesia-considers-ipo/528476

3) Freeport Indonesia Considers IPO
Tito Summa Siahaan | July 04, 2012

Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of the world’s largest copper and gold miner, is considering an initial public offering to abide by government rules on foreign ownership and improve corporate governance, its chief executive said.

“We are considering several options, including an IPO,” Rozik Soetjipto, the president director of Freeport Indonesia, said on Tuesday. He disclosed the plan in a meeting with BeritaSatu Media Holdings, which the Jakarta Globe is part of.

Rozik said the capital market debut was expected to boost corporate governance and transparency at the company.

“The IPO would be good for Freeport Indonesia, as it tends to be more accountable and transparent,” he said. He did not disclose possible terms of the IPO, such as the time frame and the size of the sale.

“Should everything go smoothly, a real strategy heading to that [IPO] direction would be carried out by 2013,” he said. But Rozik emphasized that the parent company, US-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, would have the final say on the matter and an IPO was just one option.

Rozik said the company, which runs the country’s biggest copper mine in Papua, was focused on renegotiating its contracts ending in 2021 with the government.

Indonesia has urged foreign miners operating in the country to sell stakes to local companies, eventually bringing overseas ownership to less than half. The move is meant to protect the country’s abundant natural resources and generate more revenue from extractive industries.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a regulation in February requiring foreign investors with mining business permits (IUPs) and special mining business permits (IUPKs) to reduce their stakes to 49 percent in mining operations in Indonesia within a five-year period.

Freeport-McMoRan owns a 90.64 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia and the government owns the rest.

Freeport Indonesia claims to be the largest single taxpayer in the country. Last year it contributed $2.4 billion to the state coffers through taxes or dividends, and it spent another $2.5 billion through indirect means such as employment.

It had invested a total of $8.6 billion in Indonesia as of 2011 and planned to spend at least $16.9 billion through 2041, should its contract be extended another 20 years.

If Freeport Indonesia lists its shares, it could be the largest-ever IPO in the country. The company claimed on Tuesday to be responsible for 1.59 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Indonesia’s economy grew 6.5 percent to $817 billion last year, according to government data.

Freeport-McMoRan, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has a total market capitalization of $32 billion.

Astra International, Indonesia’s largest automotive distributor, is valued at $30 billion, while Unilever has a market value of $20 billion.

Indonesia itself accounted for $5 billion of Freeport-McMoRan’s total $21 billion in revenue last year, Bloomberg data show.

Analysts and economists in Jakarta were divided over the potential IPO, particularly about whether the share sale would benefit native Papuans, some of whom have been clamoring for independence for the resource-rich island.

“They should not be allowed to have an IPO instead of a divestment,” Ikhsan Modjo, an economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), said on Tuesday. “Their contract of work clearly stated that they must divest the shares to the government first.

“The move [to hold an IPO] would not benefit Indonesia, let alone Papuans, as the stake would just end up in the hands of foreign investors.

Pri Agung Rakhmanto, an executive director at the Reforminer Institute think tank, said an IPO could create problems.

“As previous cases have shown, divesting mining company shares to the regional government is problematic,” he said. He was referring to the divestment of Newmont Nusa Tenggara, which runs the Batu Hijau mine on Sumbawa Island, a process that has been mired in controversy and allegations of embezzlement and corruption.

Pri Agung and Ikhsan agreed selling the stake directly to the government or local companies would be better than an IPO.

“An IPO would not be well received,” Pri Agung said. “I think the government would prefer for Freeport to sell its shares to them, rather than to the public, because they do not want to be sidelined.”

Ikhsan urged Freeport Indonesia to sell the stake to Papuans. “For the sake of Papuans, regionally owned Papuan companies should cooperate with listed state-owned companies to bid for the divestment,” he said. “That way, many eyes would oversee the process.”

Freeport Indonesia has been at the center of criticism over tailings pollution around its mining site and a major political conflict between the regional and central governments.

Additional reporting by Dion Bisara & Francezka Nangoy

ENDS

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