Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

Chapter 2.2: Challenges at the National Policy Level
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Guinea’s National Executive Council deployed a joint military
and police operation to address “tribal fighting and illegal
mining” in the vicinity of Porgera. This “Operation Ipili 09” led
to 300 houses belonging to local landowners being destroyed,
along with a number of killings. The operation was apparently
a response to both requests for relocation by the landowners
(given the difficulties of living near the expanding mine) and
the company, in order to accommode their mine expansion.
The Porgera Alliance made various complaints to the government,
but also called on a number of international NGOs to
make complaints on its behalf. It has consistently continued to
articulate the demands of landowners for relocation and just
compensation in spite of the difficulties outlined. 27
In other cases, such as that of the Freeport McMoRanoperated
Grasberg Mine in West Papua/Indonesia, as noted
in Chapter 1.1, the company has been effectively paying
the army to run a counter-insurgency operation in the area
around the mine. Unfortunately, the legitimate opposition of
the local people to this huge project—the third largest copper
mine in the world—has been caught up in the struggle for
Papuan independence from Indonesia. (Of course it could
be argued that concerns over the mine have in turn fed the
demands for independence.) As some of this is opposition is
armed resistance, via the Free Papua Organization (OPM),
the abuses that have been meted out by the state to peaceful
Papuans have been heinous. In this instance, the response
from activists should be on making links to human rights organizations
and the training of human rights defenders, as
much as is possible in the oppressive situation. Appeals, where
possible, to external human rights organizations have proved
to be relatively effective, but assistance can only be limited
where widespread cases of torture, arbitrary detention, gang
rape and extra-judicial killings continue. 28
One option to consider is to consider inviting in international
observers. Companies have to be very careful in the
presence of international observers. There are organizations
that will send international observers to witness, record and
denounce what is going on, thus reducing the likelihood of
violent confrontation. Some in-country human rights groups