Australian Politics Forum - 5 Indo Protesters Murdered Over Arc

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5 Indo Protesters Murdered Over Arc
Dec 27^th, 2011 at 11:11am

The Australian resources company at the centre of fatal anti-mining protests in Indonesia says it has informed the stock exchange of the deaths of two protesters.

Arc Exploration is searching for gold on the island of Sumbawa, east of Bali.

Video shot by an Indonesian television station emerged yesterday showing police firing on protesters on Sumbawa.

On Saturday, a large group of locals staged a protest, amid concerns a gold mine would destroy the environment.

Two people were killed and 10 others were injured during the demonstration.

Police reportedly opened fire when hundreds of villagers refused to end their blockade of a local port.

The deaths are being investigated by the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights.

In June, Arc Exploration said local protests had delayed its exploration plans on the island.

A company spokesman says he does not want to comment on the protest ahead of the release of the statement.

Arc Exploration says it will inform its shareholders when the Australian Securities Exchange re-opens after the Christmas break.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs says it is aware of the shootings.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-27/arc-exploration-lodges-statement/3748564

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« Last Edit: Dec 27^th, 2011 at 3:25pm by ____ »

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Re: Indo Protestor Murdered Over Arc
Reply #1 - Dec 27^th, 2011 at 11:14am

“The shooting of peaceful protestors is completely unacceptable anywhere in the world, but with an Australian company involved because of its mining operation, it is imperative that the Australian Government step-in immediately to help calm the situation and ensure no more people are killed,” said Derec Davies of Friends of the Earth Australia.

Davies said Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd must respond and investigate the role of Arc Exploration and its dealings with the Indonesian National Police where the response to the peaceful protest at the Sape Harbor over the Bima Gold Mine project was violent and fatal.

“Indonesian police attacked on Christmas Eve, and three days later, questions and concerns from locals go unanswered.”

FOE Australia stated in its release that after the police shootings, protestors responded by taking up weapons and petrol bombs. The organisation also pointed out the video footage by local media that shows unarmed protestors being shot by security forces. While the Indonesian Government has said it will ‘evaluate’ the police response, FOE Australia says it is clear that the police exceeded the use of necessary force to calm the situation and in fact they have inflamed the situation.

“Friends of the Earth is a global organisation and we work with local communities to support their peaceful non violent environmental struggles. We are appalled by the response of the Indonesian police,” said Davies.

“The community was protesting against environmental damage caused by the mine. No Australian company should be complicit in any way in this level of violence. It is unacceptable in Australia and shouldn’t be acceptable in Indonesia,” he said.

“Many tourists to Bali visit the island of Sumbawa. The company has been a trusted partner of locals. But with the problems of the Bima gold mine that trust has turned to outrage. The locals of Bima demand more, and so should Australians of our companies operating in the area”.

“Foreign Minister Rudd must step in now and call a halt to Australian operations of Arc Exploration in the Bima area. Halting the mine operations will allow police to pull out and calm to settle. Foreign Minister Rudd is responsible for calling on Chairman Mr Bruce Watson to explain his companies involvement. Australian shareholders have the right to know what is going on” said Davies.

According to Davies, the first killings occurred on Christmas eve, yet the 'battle of Bima’ continued.

"The current violent response is at Pelabuhan Sape Bima," he said. "The community is outnumbered by heavily armed national police, which is being supported by the military.”

“During this time of holiday peace, we call upon Arc Exploration to halt operations and the Australian Government to intervene to halt the unnecessary and forceful action,” said Davies.

http://www.engagemedia.org/Members/emnews/news/australian-government-must-invest...

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Re: Indo Protestor Murdered Over Arc
Reply #2 - Dec 27^th, 2011 at 1:01pm

This is very disturbing of course as well as a disgusting outcome. All in the name of freedom !

A justification for greed

Posted by Ken Parish on Thursday, December 22, 2011

George Monbiot bells the “libertarian” cat:

Freedom: who could object? Yet this word is now used to justify a thousand forms of exploitation. Throughout the rightwing press and blogosphere, among thinktanks and governments, the word excuses every assault on the lives of the poor, every form of inequality and intrusion to which the 1% subject us. How did libertarianism, once a noble impulse, become synonymous with injustice?

In the name of freedom – freedom from regulation – the banks were permitted to wreck the economy. In the name of freedom, taxes for the super-rich are cut. In the name of freedom, companies lobby to drop the minimum wage and raise working hours. In the same cause, US insurers lobby Congress to thwart effective public healthcare; the government rips up our planning laws; big business trashes the biosphere. This is the freedom of the powerful to exploit the weak, the rich to exploit the poor.

http://clubtroppo.com.au/2011/12/22/a-justification-for-greed/

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Belgarion Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 5458 Gender:	Re: Indo Protestor Murdered Over Arc Reply #3 - Dec 27^th, 2011 at 1:51pm You want the Australian government to interfere in Indonesias internal affairs? How neo-colonialist of you.
Back to top	"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Voltaire.....(possibly) IP Logged

____ Moderator Offline Australian Politics Posts: 33410 Australia Gender:	Re: Indo Protestor Murdered Over Arc Reply #4 - Dec 27^th, 2011 at 2:11pm It is an Australian company exploiting the environment. We have laws to stop Australians committing pedophilia outside of our boarder ... why not laws to stop Australian companies exploiting outside our boarders.
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gizmo_2655

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Re: Indo Protestor Murdered Over Arc
Reply #5 - Dec 27^th, 2011 at 2:15pm

____ wrote on Dec 27^th, 2011 at 2:11pm:

It is an Australian company exploiting the environment.

We have laws to stop Australians committing pedophilia outside of our boarder ... why not laws to stop Australian companies exploiting outside our boarders.

Is it??? or is it the Indonesian police behaving badly, through their own choice????

There's a difference between national police, and private security....

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"I just get sick of people who place a label on someone else with their own definition.

It's similar to a strawman fallacy"
Bobbythebat

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Re: Indo Protestor Murdered Over Arc
Reply #6 - Dec 27^th, 2011 at 2:17pm

Australian miner tight-lipped over deaths

Radio Australia's Indonesian service has been told three people were killed in the protest, with about 10 people injured in the incident.
Police reportedly opened fire when hundreds of villagers refused to end their blockade of a local port.

The deaths are being investigated by the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-27/arc-exploration-lodges-statement/3748564

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gizmo_2655

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Re: Indo Protestor Murdered Over Arc
Reply #7 - Dec 27^th, 2011 at 2:19pm

Quote:

Australian miner tight-lipped over deaths

Radio Australia's Indonesian service has been told three people were killed in the protest, with about 10 people injured in the incident.
Police reportedly opened fire when hundreds of villagers refused to end their blockade of a local port.

The deaths are being investigated by the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-27/arc-exploration-lodges-statement/3748564

YES...it was the Indonesian police.....have you got any proof that the Australian company asked/told the Indo police to open fire????....NO? thought not...

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"I just get sick of people who place a label on someone else with their own definition.

It's similar to a strawman fallacy"
Bobbythebat

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Re: Indo Protestor Murdered Over Arc
Reply #8 - Dec 27^th, 2011 at 3:18pm

Protests across country against ‘police brutality’ in Bima riot

Protests flared up in parts of the country on Monday with demonstrators protesting against what they deemed as police brutality in the Bima riot, where two civilians died.

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, hundreds of protesters took to the streets, destroying three police posts and four traffic lights in the city.

The protesters, mostly students from universities in Makassar, also demanded that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono relieve from their duties National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo, West Nusa Tenggara Police chief Brig. Gen. Arif Wachyunadi as well as heads of local police in Bima.

“Members of the police force should protect the people, not kill them,” Suhaini Mustamin, one of leaders in the protest said.

The protesters also called on the local government to revoke the mining permit issued to PT Sumber Mineral Nusantara (SMN) for Lambu and Sape districts.

Similar protests took place in Medan, North Sumatra, where demonstrators condemned what they perceived as the National Police protecting the interests of the business community.

The protesters said that police involvement in safeguarding the mining activities of Freeport, their alleged complicity in the murder of the Mesuji farmers and now the shooting of locals in Bima, all constituted gross violations of human rights.

Other than calling for the dismissal of Timur, protesters pleaded for the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to run a thorough investigation of the incident.

In Bima, lawyers and rights activists set up their own investigation team to probe the shooting of civilians during a protest against SMN.

A coordinator for a fact-finding team on the Bima riot, Dwi Sudarsono, said that so far there were 21 lawyers who had agreed to join the investigation team.

“We want to get the facts right. Police said only two people died. We have reports from families and relatives of the victims who said that more than five people had died in the incident,” Dwi said.

Authorities claimed that two students, Arif Rachman and Syaiful, had died when the police fired into the crowd of protesters, who were demanding the revocation of SMN’s mining permit, citing environmental concerns.

The mayhem began when hundreds of people from the People’s Front Against Mining (FRAT) confronted authorities on Saturday at 7 a.m. local time (6 a.m. Jakarta time), blocking the road to the nearby port.

The demonstrators had been rallying since Dec. 19, demanding that Bima Regent Ferry Zulkarnaen revoke the company’s mining permit.

The National Police announced on Monday that it had sent its own investigation team to Bima.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said that the team was led by three generals, National Police Detective Chief Comr. Gen. Sutarman, the chief of the security maintenance division Comr. Gen. Imam Sujarwo and the inspector for general supervision Comr. Gen. Fajar Prihantoro.

“The team has been in Bima since Dec. 24,” Saud said.

Saud said that it was too premature to draw any conclusions as to whether local police had violated operational standards in handling the crowd.

Also on Monday, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said that it had dispatched its own investigation team to Bima.

“The team left this afternoon [on Monday], and will arrive in Bima, tomorrow,” Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim said.

Komnas HAM also raised the number of dead victims to three. The third casualty, Arifuddin A. Rahman reportedly died in hospital soon after the clash.

Police said that the death may not have been as a result of police firing at protesters. “Autopsy results will indicate whether the deaths were caused by bullets or not,” National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Ahmad said.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/12/27/protests-across-country-against-po...

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Re: 5 Indo Protesters Murdered Over Arc
Reply #9 - Dec 28^th, 2011 at 1:09am

Greens require investigation into gold miner

THE Greens have demanded the government investigate an Australian mining company's relationship with Indonesian police who opened fire at the weekend on environmental protesters, killing at least two people. (Jakarta Post is saying 5)

The demonstrators had been blockading the road to the nearby port of Sape since December 19 and calling on authorities to revoke the permits of Arc Exploration and its Indonesian partner, Sumber Mineral Nusantara, according to The Jakarta Post.

''What we would like is to have the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade immediately investigate and report back to the Australian people about what exactly took place and what arrangements Arc Exploration have with the local police,'' Senator Milne said.

She said the unrest had been building but that the deadly incident suggested ''the company has pressed on regardless, with tragic consequences''.

Arc Exploration is due to make an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange this morning. Yesterday its chairman, Bruce Watson, said the company's work was still exploratory.

The firm put its field work on hold in the area in February because of the local unrest. But on November 29 it issued a statement saying it was resuming work after ''meetings with local people, community leaders and government authorities to secure their long-term support''.

That statement said the company was aiming to start drilling - a more extensive form of exploration - ''as soon as possible''.

The gold project, which covers 250 square kilometres, is a joint venture with Indonesia's Sumber Mineral Nusantara.

The Department of Foreign Affairs also expressed concern over the incident.

''The Australian government is always concerned to see loss of life and injury,'' a spokesperson said.

''We note that Indonesian authorities have ordered an investigation into the incident.''

Senator Milne said the company's ASX statement needed to ''make clear what arrangements it has made with any local security firms or police with regard to local protesters and also indicate what efforts it has made to consult with local farmers and fishermen about the nature of the mining exploration that it is conducting in the area''.

''The mining company has an obligation to explain the human rights and environmental standards with which it will comply in the port of Sape,'' she said.

''Australian companies should abide by the same standards of human rights and environmental compliance that they would have to undertake here in Australia. Unfortunately this does not happen and we've now seen a human rights abuse and also clear concern from local people that their environment will be damaged by the activities of Arc Exploration.''

The acting Greens leader, Christine Milne, told the Herald yesterday that the firm Arc Exploration, which is looking for gold on the island of Sumbawa, appeared to have gone ahead with its work despite signs the situation with local residents and farmers was turning incendiary.

According to Indonesian media reports, police fired live rounds at demonstrators in the city of Bima in West Nusa Tenggara province on Saturday, killing two students, Arif Rachman and Syaiful, and wounding at least 10 other people.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/greens-want-investigation-into-gold-miner-2011122...

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____ Moderator Offline Australian Politics Posts: 33410 Australia Gender:	Re: 5 Indo Protesters Murdered Over Arc Reply #10 - Dec 29^th, 2011 at 3:16am Indonesian investigators say some of the anti-mining protesters attacked by police on the island of Sumbawa were lying down when they were shot. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-28/protesters-shot-while-lying-down2c-running...
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