The New York Times publishes an article outlining illegal and secret payments made to the Indonesian police and military by Freeport McMoran, the company with which Rio Tinto is in a joint venture ownership of the Grasberg mine. The payments are for security protection of the Grasberg mine and confirms earlier allegations of the company’s connection to the Indonesian government, thus associating it with extensive human rights abuses by the military and police against local and indigenous West Papuans. This symbiotic relationship between the mine at Grasberg / Nemangkawi on the one hand and the Indonesian government and security forces on the other is shown to be central to the ongoing conflict and denial of basic human and environmental rights in West Papua.
The Grasberg / Nemangkawi mine’s entire history is noticeably absent from Rio Tinto’s own timeline, including its association with colonialism, human rights abuses and denying West Papuans autonomy and control over their lands.
Cut and Run report by LMN