Eric Watkins
Middle East Correspondent
NICOSIA, Nov 11 -- Indonesian military officials have proposed withdrawing their troops from guard duty at the country's largest energy projects, proposing instead that private companies assume the responsibility of protecting their own facilities.
Gen. Endrartono Sutarto, the country's top military commander, told a news conference Monday that he wants international firms such as ExxonMobil Corp. and BP PLC to assume control of their own security needs, even in such volatile areas as Aceh, now under martial law.
Gen. Sutarto's proposal follows Jakarta's rejection of international criticism of its plan for a 6-month extension of martial law in Aceh.
The US, European Union, and Japan issued a joint statement Nov. 6 following Jakarta's decision to extend martial law in Aceh for an additional 6 months, beginning Nov. 19. The statement said that martial law should be conducted with minimum human suffering and that Jakarta should open international access to the operation of humanitarian affairs in the province.
"We hope that the government, in carrying out its activities during Martial Law, will reduce the impact on the Acehnese people to a minimum and will approach it on several fronts to provide humanitarian aid, restore the civilian administration and law enforcement," the statement said.
Jakarta 'veiled threat'
Jakarta quickly rejected the implied criticism, saying it displayed poor understanding of the "integrated operation" planned for Aceh, which—in addition to the military operation—also included humanitarian operations, law enforcement, empowerment of the local administration, and a newly added economic recovery program.
Gen. Sutarto's proposal, which has yet to be approved by the Indonesian government, appears to be a veiled threat to leave international companies to the mercy of antigovernment forces. But it also could be a blessing in disguise for the companies, which have come under fire for human rights abuses carried out by the government forces they are obliged to pay.
ExxonMobil currently is being sued in a US court by the International Labor Rights Fund on behalf of villagers who live near the company's LNG plant at Aceh. The ILRF suit claims that ExxonMobil is complicit in the murder, torture, and rape of villagers by soldiers guarding the plant.
ExxonMobil in August 2002 denied the charges, pointing out that, "there is no claim of direct wrongdoing by ExxonMobil" and that, "the ILRF claims are based on the alleged conduct of the Indonesian military in a civil war."
The US firm further distanced itself from the security operations, saying, "the Indonesian national oil company, Pertamina, owns the Arun Field facilities, which an ExxonMobil affiliate operates. Pertamina is responsible for coordinating security for the project, which in turn is provided by the government of Indonesia, which considers this business a vital national industry."
BP response
ExxonMobil was not available for comment on the possibility of guarding its own facilities in Aceh, but BP did not see Gen. Sutarto's new security proposal as a threat. On the contrary, his proposal could boost BP's plan to invest $2 billion in a new LNG plant in the province of Papua (see Processing, OGJ Online, Nov. 11, 2003).
Worried by the potential risk to its reputation from association with the military, BP has lobbied hard to be allowed to take responsibility for its own security and put forward a plan that would rely heavily on involvement with the local community rather than the armed forces.
As part of its community-based security policy, BP already has recruited 65 Papuans who are being trained internally for unarmed security work—and says it will not pay the military to guard the project.
When asked about Gen. Sutarto's statement on the proposed policy, a BP spokesman told the Jakarta Post, "We're very confident that the Indonesian government's decision will be the best for the country."
