Jakarta minister says foreigners stealing resources

The Straits Times, March 5, 2007
By Salim Osman, INDONESIA CORRESPONDENT


JAKARTA - INDONESIAN Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Minister Freddy Numberi has alleged that foreign 'mafias' are destroying the country's economy by paying locals to plunder its natural resources.

He said yesterday there had been a rise in illegal fishing by foreigners using large vessels and fresh cases of marine sand being plundered by foreign contractors in cahoots with Indonesian businessmen.

'These mafias are from certain countries which want to destroy the Indonesian economy. They know that Indonesia is a country with rich natural resources. They fear that if Indonesia became strong, it would pose a threat,' he was quoted as saying by the online Media Indonesia.

Two Chinese fishing vessels had been caught 'red-handed' with hauls worth 50 billion rupiah (S$8.3 million) in total, said the veteran minister who hails from the resource-rich Papua province.

'These mafias have been entering the country and offering huge amounts to Indonesians,' he said.

The minister also hit out at the 'plundering' of marine sand in the Riau islands 'for reclamation works in Singapore'. Marine sand exports were banned by the Indonesian authorities in 2003.

The renewed mining was the work of seven foreign contractors, he said.

He also repeated earlier claims that the alleged smuggling of marine sand for Singapore's reclamation works was against Indonesian economic and political interests.

He went so far as to call Singapore a United States 'puppet', and said reclamation work was meant to enable US warships to call or drop anchor there.

His latest remarks were a second salvo after comments in Saturday's Jakarta Post, when he said the ban on sand exports to Singapore would go on until border disputes were settled.

Even if Indonesia lets sand sales resume, it wants to renegotiate the price and determine which areas could be mined to avoid ecological damage, he said.

His statements contradicted Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, who last month said the ban was meant to protect Indonesia's environment.

Responding to his earlier remarks, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Mr Numberi's comments 'puzzling and disappointing', and said they 'clearly contradict categorical assurances' from Mr Hassan that there was no link between the sand ban and bilateral issues.

It also said it would ask the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore to urgently clarify whether Mr Numberi's remarks represented official policy.

Indonesian Embassy officials in Singapore were not available for comment.

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SINGAPORE 'PUZZLED'
'Minister Freddy Numberi's comments are puzzling and disappointing. They clearly contradict categorical assurances we had received in public as well as in private from Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda that there was no linkage between the ban on the export of land sand and bilateral issues. Uncertainty over who speaks for Indonesia is not helpful.

MFA will therefore ask the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore to urgently clarify whether minister Numberi's comments represent the official policy of the Indonesian government.'
SINGAPORE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS