Mutual trust needed in dispute between Freeport and Jakarta

THE dispute between PT Freeport Indonesia and the Indonesian government involves not just the fortunes of the world's largest gold mine and second largest copper mine. It does not affect only the fate of many thousands of workers in Indonesia's resource-rich Papua. These in themselves are compelling issues. More important, however, is that at stake is Indonesia's participation in the global economy, where America remains a key source of foreign direct investment.

Freeport Indonesia is a subsidiary of the United States-based mining giant Freeport-McMoRan. It is also a marker of Indonesia's economic development. It arrived on the wave of the inaugural foreign investment tide after the country had liberalised its investment regime in 1967.

Freeport is not just another foreign company in Indonesia, any more than Indonesia is just another investment destination for American capital and expertise. The company and the country enjoy a symbiotic relationship. It attests to the complementary roles which America and its partnering countries played during the Cold War. These gains fed back into their national coffers, giving them the material wherewithal to take on the Soviet challenge.