Military to pull out of Freeport mine

Koran Tempo reported today that Indonesian military will withdraw its troops from Freeport's mining operation in Papua.Quoting National Police Chief General Sutanto, the newspaper reported that police mobile brigade (Brimob) would replace the military (TNI) gradually in protecting the mining operation.

Military Headquarter admitted the withdrawal should have started early this month. There are 500 to 600 military personels protecting the mine.

Hopefully this time the military deliver its promises. Three years ago, military also said it wants to withdraw troops guarding the country's bigges mining.

The withdrawal of military guards from 'vital projects' has been a major demand of human rights defenders in both West Papua and Aceh. In Aceh military officers guard the natural gas installations of the giant US oil corporation, ExxonMobil. Their presence has been linked to a series of gross human rights abuses which form the basis of a court case in the US, filed by the International Labor Rights Fund.

In West Papua, communities and NGOs concerned about the developments at Freeport and at BP's huge Tangguh gas and gas processing project planned for Bintuni Bay, will be watching closely to see whether Endriartono really means what he says.
Military withdrawal would not mean that the notorious police mobile brigade (Brimob) would also give up their lucrative security deals to guard company facilities. In fact, as reported by Koran Tempo today, their presence would be even more significant in the mining operations.

Military protection on Freeport became major topic late last year when The New York Times published its investigation over payments made by Freeport Indonesia to senior military officers.

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