Exxon Mobil in Aceh: A Bloody Story
Historian | 15.03.2004 21:37 | World
No Blood for Oil!
Sound familiar?
Every day blood is spilt in the constant drive to satisfy our lust for "black gold"- oil.
WE are the end users, we are the consumers, this is not being done "in our name" but to satisfy OUR demand. Read on, and ACT.
Sound familiar?
Every day blood is spilt in the constant drive to satisfy our lust for "black gold"- oil.
WE are the end users, we are the consumers, this is not being done "in our name" but to satisfy OUR demand. Read on, and ACT.
CASE NUMBER 1: TIMELINE OF TERROR: EXXONMOBIL [EM] IN ACEH
1968: Mobil Oil Indonesia began operating the PT Arun gas fields. They were given the exclusive rights to gas exploration and production in the region by the notorious Soeharto regime. In 1999 Exxon and Mobil merged and ExxonMobil took over the running of PTArun. EM operates Arun, Indonesia’s largest producing natural gas field, supplying gas to PTArun Liquified Natural Gas [LNG] plant. In 1998- 118 cargoes of LNG from the Arun area were sold to buyers in Japan and Korea.
1989- 1998: “The DOM Era”
Attacks at the EM installation in the early 1980’s made Jakarta place the region under military occupation (DOM). Since then, over 10,000 people have been killed/ disappeared at the hands of the military.
Throughout this period EM provided logistical and material support for the Indonesian Troops- including the construction and provision of buildings and supplies for 2 military barracks located on/ next to Mobil Natural Gas extraction operations and Mobil’s Indonesian Partners’ Liquefaction plant. These sites are known as “Post 13” and “Rancong Camp”.
September 1998- Riots broke out. Hundreds of troops posted to gas refinery and industrial locations in Lhokeseumawe. In Bukit Sentang approx 150 bodies were found.
AND MORE RECENTLY…
May 1999 - 60 civilians massacred in the village of Pulo Rungkom.
- 41 people including women and children were shot dead by the Indonesian military during a protest about the security forces excessive use of force in Aceh.
July 1999 - 50+ students at an Islamic boarding school were murdered
October 1999 - 40 people killed in Ujong Blang
Summer 2000- Jafar Sidiq Hamzah, founder of International Forum for Aceh murdered on a visit to Aceh
September 2000- Dr Safwan Idris: Nonviolence Advocate and candidate for governor was assassinated by gunmen.
NOVEMBER 2000- a KONTRAS (Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence) human rights investigation reported that EMIndonesia spent 5 billion Rupiah ($530,000)/ month on security forces with 17 military and police posts and more than 1000 personnel being paid by Indonesia EM. The Indonesian military were deployed to Aceh under Presidential Instruction No 4/2001 to secure the area and the operations of EM and to assist the police in eliminating any social outcries/protests/movements.
During the first months of 2001 a 35,000 strong military force unleashed a reign onf terror in central Aceh. A Human Rights Monitor said: “The military goes into every house….if civilians don’t open the door, they burn the house down with people in it” as a result- tens of thousands of refugees- mainly women and children and the elderly, have fled to northern villages.
More than 800 people were killed in the first half of 2001 alone. The security Forces violence has been targeted at human rights workers, advocates of non-violence and opposition groups.
In 2001 reports abounded in the foreign press of civilians who by no stretch of the imagination could be considered legitimate targets- being targeted, tortured and killed by the security forces. In August 2001 survivors accused Indonesian security forces of killing over 30 men on an Aceh plantation.
British supplied weaponry has been used in Aceh by the Indonesian Forces.
09 March 2001 EM Indonesia announced the temporary closure of its concerns in Aceh. The Indonesian Government- scared of such serious revenue losses, declared their dedication to the swift restoration of order.
Troops at A13 were put on high alert and in May 2001 Jakarta dispatched 2000 more soldiers to EM sites. These included the feared KOPASSUS/ special forces you’ll remember from pre-independence East Timor.
Lieutenant Colonel Sadharun Nandio said “The decision to add troops was taken after consultation between Exxon, government and the military”.
By July 2001 EM Arun operations had resumed. By the end of September the figure of killed = 1200 with an unknown number of disappeared.
EM also has a pisspoor record regarding workers rights. A complaint was filed by 226 former EM workers for dismissal without compensation. Even the Jakarta court found in favour of the ex employees but still EM refused to pay up.
THE ENVIRONMENT
- water pollution
- noise pollution
- explosions disturbing farmland
- destruction of villagers homes eg 1992 Pu’uk community flooded by liquid waste from EM operations.
ABUSES AGAINST WOMEN
- many cases of torture, rape and assault carried out by soldiers attached to EM concerns have been recorded by local womens rights organisations.
- These incidents became more serious during 2001-2 and were “justified” as revenge killings on the “womenfolk” of oppositionist elements.
RANDOM KILLINGS
- the forces stationed to/alongside EM concerns in Aceh have frequently indulged in random killings of passers by as well as the more common political killings, brutally silencing the opposition.
- People have been arrested for organising/ participating in tax boycotts and protests: the subversion law is most commonly used against “politicals”.
- Local journalists and human rights workers, local and foreign have commented on the intimidation they are subjected to by the security forces.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
The gated town of EM employees “Bukit Indah” (Beautiful Hill) is bathed in relative calm and plenty. There are swimming pools, green lawns, tennis courts and golf courses. Just down the road- in a refugee camp, Anwar, a 30 yr old farmer lifts his shirt to show his scars that testify to the regimes continuing brutality. Soldiers, assigned to defend EM whipped him every night for a month with barbed wire. He was burned with cigarettes and beaten unconscious with a wooden board. All this took place on EM land. He has no idea why he was picked up, detained and tortured, and claims no knowledge of the Free Aceh movement (GAM).
INDONESIA- USA- OIL- THE ARMY
EM is a powerful transnational company.
EM earns the Indonesian Central Government $1billion per annum.
Former President Abdurrahman Wahid openly accused the company of using the security situation to put pressure on Jakarta to renegotiate its contract.
Jakarta fears the breakaway Aceh province more than it ever feares East Timor, after all, Aceh is rich in oil and gas and is one of Jakarta’s main earners.
Current pro oil US administration
– smiles on EM and all its interests.
– supports EM through the courts when cases relating to incidents of rape and torture/ criminal negligence have been brought.
– A letter from the US State Dept urged thedismissal of the EM lawsuit re; “Skull Hill” incidents, stating that letting the case go to trial would “harm national interest, including the war on terrorism.”
– Has commited to a resumption of military ties with Indonesia, ties it broke off after the 1999 East Timor violence.
Violence perpetrated against civilian population in Aceh is supported by a complex web of approval of the exploitation of oil/gas resources at any human or environmental cost.
1968: Mobil Oil Indonesia began operating the PT Arun gas fields. They were given the exclusive rights to gas exploration and production in the region by the notorious Soeharto regime. In 1999 Exxon and Mobil merged and ExxonMobil took over the running of PTArun. EM operates Arun, Indonesia’s largest producing natural gas field, supplying gas to PTArun Liquified Natural Gas [LNG] plant. In 1998- 118 cargoes of LNG from the Arun area were sold to buyers in Japan and Korea.
1989- 1998: “The DOM Era”
Attacks at the EM installation in the early 1980’s made Jakarta place the region under military occupation (DOM). Since then, over 10,000 people have been killed/ disappeared at the hands of the military.
Throughout this period EM provided logistical and material support for the Indonesian Troops- including the construction and provision of buildings and supplies for 2 military barracks located on/ next to Mobil Natural Gas extraction operations and Mobil’s Indonesian Partners’ Liquefaction plant. These sites are known as “Post 13” and “Rancong Camp”.
September 1998- Riots broke out. Hundreds of troops posted to gas refinery and industrial locations in Lhokeseumawe. In Bukit Sentang approx 150 bodies were found.
AND MORE RECENTLY…
May 1999 - 60 civilians massacred in the village of Pulo Rungkom.
- 41 people including women and children were shot dead by the Indonesian military during a protest about the security forces excessive use of force in Aceh.
July 1999 - 50+ students at an Islamic boarding school were murdered
October 1999 - 40 people killed in Ujong Blang
Summer 2000- Jafar Sidiq Hamzah, founder of International Forum for Aceh murdered on a visit to Aceh
September 2000- Dr Safwan Idris: Nonviolence Advocate and candidate for governor was assassinated by gunmen.
NOVEMBER 2000- a KONTRAS (Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence) human rights investigation reported that EMIndonesia spent 5 billion Rupiah ($530,000)/ month on security forces with 17 military and police posts and more than 1000 personnel being paid by Indonesia EM. The Indonesian military were deployed to Aceh under Presidential Instruction No 4/2001 to secure the area and the operations of EM and to assist the police in eliminating any social outcries/protests/movements.
During the first months of 2001 a 35,000 strong military force unleashed a reign onf terror in central Aceh. A Human Rights Monitor said: “The military goes into every house….if civilians don’t open the door, they burn the house down with people in it” as a result- tens of thousands of refugees- mainly women and children and the elderly, have fled to northern villages.
More than 800 people were killed in the first half of 2001 alone. The security Forces violence has been targeted at human rights workers, advocates of non-violence and opposition groups.
In 2001 reports abounded in the foreign press of civilians who by no stretch of the imagination could be considered legitimate targets- being targeted, tortured and killed by the security forces. In August 2001 survivors accused Indonesian security forces of killing over 30 men on an Aceh plantation.
British supplied weaponry has been used in Aceh by the Indonesian Forces.
09 March 2001 EM Indonesia announced the temporary closure of its concerns in Aceh. The Indonesian Government- scared of such serious revenue losses, declared their dedication to the swift restoration of order.
Troops at A13 were put on high alert and in May 2001 Jakarta dispatched 2000 more soldiers to EM sites. These included the feared KOPASSUS/ special forces you’ll remember from pre-independence East Timor.
Lieutenant Colonel Sadharun Nandio said “The decision to add troops was taken after consultation between Exxon, government and the military”.
By July 2001 EM Arun operations had resumed. By the end of September the figure of killed = 1200 with an unknown number of disappeared.
EM also has a pisspoor record regarding workers rights. A complaint was filed by 226 former EM workers for dismissal without compensation. Even the Jakarta court found in favour of the ex employees but still EM refused to pay up.
THE ENVIRONMENT
- water pollution
- noise pollution
- explosions disturbing farmland
- destruction of villagers homes eg 1992 Pu’uk community flooded by liquid waste from EM operations.
ABUSES AGAINST WOMEN
- many cases of torture, rape and assault carried out by soldiers attached to EM concerns have been recorded by local womens rights organisations.
- These incidents became more serious during 2001-2 and were “justified” as revenge killings on the “womenfolk” of oppositionist elements.
RANDOM KILLINGS
- the forces stationed to/alongside EM concerns in Aceh have frequently indulged in random killings of passers by as well as the more common political killings, brutally silencing the opposition.
- People have been arrested for organising/ participating in tax boycotts and protests: the subversion law is most commonly used against “politicals”.
- Local journalists and human rights workers, local and foreign have commented on the intimidation they are subjected to by the security forces.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
The gated town of EM employees “Bukit Indah” (Beautiful Hill) is bathed in relative calm and plenty. There are swimming pools, green lawns, tennis courts and golf courses. Just down the road- in a refugee camp, Anwar, a 30 yr old farmer lifts his shirt to show his scars that testify to the regimes continuing brutality. Soldiers, assigned to defend EM whipped him every night for a month with barbed wire. He was burned with cigarettes and beaten unconscious with a wooden board. All this took place on EM land. He has no idea why he was picked up, detained and tortured, and claims no knowledge of the Free Aceh movement (GAM).
INDONESIA- USA- OIL- THE ARMY
EM is a powerful transnational company.
EM earns the Indonesian Central Government $1billion per annum.
Former President Abdurrahman Wahid openly accused the company of using the security situation to put pressure on Jakarta to renegotiate its contract.
Jakarta fears the breakaway Aceh province more than it ever feares East Timor, after all, Aceh is rich in oil and gas and is one of Jakarta’s main earners.
Current pro oil US administration
– smiles on EM and all its interests.
– supports EM through the courts when cases relating to incidents of rape and torture/ criminal negligence have been brought.
– A letter from the US State Dept urged thedismissal of the EM lawsuit re; “Skull Hill” incidents, stating that letting the case go to trial would “harm national interest, including the war on terrorism.”
– Has commited to a resumption of military ties with Indonesia, ties it broke off after the 1999 East Timor violence.
Violence perpetrated against civilian population in Aceh is supported by a complex web of approval of the exploitation of oil/gas resources at any human or environmental cost.
Historian
