PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS, PEACE AND DEMOCRACY IN INDONESIA

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Tony Hayward
Group Chief Executive
BP
1 St James Square
London SW1Y 4PD

31 March 2008

Open letter

Dear Mr Hayward,

As individuals and organisations who are closely following the Tangguh LNG project in West Papua, we are writing to express our concern about BP’s decision not to extend the mandate of the Tangguh Independent Advisory Panel, TIAP, beyond 2009.

We have serious reservations about TIAP’s independence, but we consider that external scrutiny of Tangguh’s political, economic, social and environmental impact is essential throughout the duration of the project.

It appears from the decision to wind up TIAP that BP perversely believes the project will have no, or fewer, adverse effects after it becomes operational in 2008.  Alternatively, according to a more cynical view of the company’s motives (which we hope is not justified), BP believes it can dispense with the public relations cover provided by TIAP after the construction phase has been completed.

At the April 2007 TIAP stakeholder meeting in London and subsequently, it has been suggested that BP will rely on ongoing monitoring by the Asian Development Bank.  We would consider this an inadequate measure that would provide neither comprehensive nor independent monitoring.

BP is aware that truly independent monitoring of the project is currently impossible because of the restrictions on access to West Papua, and on movement within the territory, by foreign journalists and international human rights organisations.  The Papuans’ lack of genuine freedom to express their opposition to, or concern about, strategic projects such as Tangguh means that the local community has little real control over how the project proceeds.

A number of issues remain unresolved or a source of potential problems in the future.  They include:

Security and human rights: Increased military presence
There is as yet no firm evidence of an increased military presence in the area of the Tangguh project.  However, anecdotal reports point to increased activity by Kopassus special forces troops, Brimob police special operations personnel, intelligence agents and other non-uniformed security forces personnel.  TIAP’s Reverend Herman Saud confirmed the existence of such reports at the stakeholders’ meetings in Washington DC and London in April 2007.  In November 2006, the Manokwari-based NGO LP3BH, which provides human rights training for BP, pointed out that the administrative changes in Bintuni Bay consequent upon the arrival of the Tangguh project would result in the establishment of a new district military command. More worryingly, at the recent TIAP meeting in Manokwari in November 2007, concerns were expressed that this enhanced presence could trigger increased human rights violations.

TIAP has, perhaps justifiably, proclaimed the success of Tangguh’s Integrated Community Based Security (ICBS) programme.  However, while it may have positive elements, the ICBS initiative is essentially about the micro-management of security and human rights issues around the project site.  It does not address the bigger picture of an increased presence by the Indonesian military, TNI.  This is an almost inevitable consequence of the development in Indonesia of major resource extraction operations such as Tangguh.  The TNI’s past record suggests that it is likely to adopt a highly intimidatory approach giving rise to possible conflicts with the local and wider Papuan community.

In its Fifth Report, TIAP warned that ‘the situation could become less stable if new police or TNI units are stationed in the Bintuni area…’.  It said it expected new deployments of security forces to take place.  At the London stakeholders’ meeting, TIAP acknowledged the need for continued monitoring of the situation so it is surprising that BP is withdrawing its support for this vital task.

Social impacts
Although benefits have accrued to villagers re-settled to make way for the production facilities on the south shore of Bintuni Bay, there is ongoing tension among non-resettled villagers who feel they have been unfairly treated.  This applies in particular to villagers on the north shore who claim customary rights over some of the gas being exploited.  In its Fifth Report, TIAP expressed concern that it has been visiting the area for five years, but BP has not yet made sufficient progress in addressing this issue, which could become another source of conflict.  It has been reported also that the resettled villagers of Tanah Merah Baru, despite having new housing, are experiencing problems settling in and establishing their new livelihoods.

In addition, there continue to be tensions and unresolved disputes over long-term land ownership claims in the area.

BP faces a significant challenge when it lays off the majority of its construction workforce once the project becomes operational.  This will require careful handling and monitoring for a significant period after the lay-offs takes place. 

All these issues point to major ongoing changes to the social order of the Bintuni area for which BP is directly responsible.

Environmental concerns
Environmentally, the major concerns are the impact of a massive increase in shipping and other activities in and around Bintuni Bay and carbon dioxide emissions.  Around 12.5 per cent of the Tangguh gas reservoir consists of CO2, which will be released into the atmosphere unless it can be captured.  To our knowledge, no decision has yet been made on the appropriate disposal mechanism. 

There is worldwide concern about the destruction of Papua's forests and Indonesian media reports concerning the use of costly wood for the new houses in Tanah Merah Baru raise questions about the environmental credentials of this whole enterprise.

Given BP's recent record of environmental disasters, we have reservations about whether the company can live up to its projected green image.  The situation is made all the more precarious by the vulnerability of the environment in Papua, the lack of protection given to it, the absence of independent monitoring and, above all, its unique value.  Withdrawal of BP's support for the monitoring process goes against all the 'green' rhetoric that is so prominent in BP's public relations and marketing exercises.

The wider context
Despite apparent local support, the project is regarded by some Papuans as an obstacle to the realisation of their wider political aspirations.  BP is seen by them as a collaborator with Jakarta’s exploitation of West Papua’s natural resources.  For these reasons, the project is likely to remain a potential source of instability unless and until the West Papua conflict is peacefully resolved.

All these and other issues will require careful monitoring in the short term and, in some cases, for many years to come until the project is completed. 

Given the imminent demise of TIAP, we may try to organise a visit to the project by a delegation representing the signatories of this letter.  We trust that you would support our reasonable requests for access to the area.

We should make clear that nothing in this letter should be taken to imply our support for the Tangguh project.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Carmel Budiardjo, Director, TAPOL, UK

Andrew Hickman, Campaigner, Down to Earth, International Campaign for Ecological Justice in Indonesia, UK

Benny Wenda, Chairman, the Koteka Tribal Assembly (DeMMaK) & Leader of the West Papuan independence movement in the UK

Richard Samuelson, Co-Director, Free West Papua Campaign, Oxford, UK

Rains, fPcN InterCultural, UK

John Saltford, London, UK

Hugh Dowson, Bath, UK

Latifah Anum Siregar, Chief of Alliance Democracy For Papua (ALDP), West Papua

Jacob Rumbiak, Co-ordinator Management of Foreign Affairs, West Papua National Authority, Victoria, Australia

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, Chairperson, SNUP/National Solidarity With Papua, Indonesia

Santina Soares and Maximus Tahu, Coordinators, La'o Hamutuk (Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis)

Carmen Lauzon-Gatmaytan, Secretariat, Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC)

Django Raitnaw, Papua Coordinator, International Action for West Papua

Joe Collins, Secretary, Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)

Matthew Jamieson, Secretary, Institute for Papuan Advocacy & Human Rights, Australia

Dr. Jim Elmslie, Co-convenor, West Papua Project, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Sydney University

Prof G Peter King, Government and International Relations, Faculty of Arts, Sydney University

Amanda & Michael Freund, Australia West Papua Association – Newcastle

Rob Wesley-Smith, Convenor, Australia NT, Australia

Andrew Johnson, Lindfield NSW, Australia

Ed Mc Williams, West Papua Advocacy Team, US

John M. Miller, National Coordinator, East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN), US

S. Eben Kirksey, PhD, National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Scholar, 2008-2010, US

Glenn Raynor, Executive Director, Pacific Peoples' Partnership, Canada

Maire Leadbeater, Indonesia Human Rights Committee, Auckland, New Zealand

Kevin McBride, National Coordinator, Pax Christi Aotearoa-New Zealand

Edwina Hughes, Coordinator, Peace Movement Aotearoa

Bakhtiar Amin, Acheh Support Group, Wellington, New Zealand.

Tim Howard, Community Development Worker, Northland Urban Rural Mission
Whangarei, New Zealand

Heidi Hautala, Chairperson, Finnish AEPF (Asia-Europe People´s Forum) Committee

Ulrich Delius, Asia Desk, Society for Threatened Peoples, Germany

Dr. Siegfried Zöllner, Chairman of the Advisory Board of West-Papua Network Germany

Cc:      Senator George Mitchell (TIAP)
            Lord Hannay (TIAP)
            Reverend Herman Saud (TIAP)
            Ambassador Sabam Siagian (TIAP)
            John Hughes, BP Regional Director, Asia Pacific
            John Mingé, President, BP Indonesia

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