HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

Oxford Indymedia

Take Action on Indonesian Genocide

Paul Kingsnorth | 23.11.2004 13:47 | Repression | Oxford

British company Rolls-Royce is selling its weapons technology to Indonesia this week. Tell them what you thik about it.

Tomorrow, in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, a three-day ‘military expo’ begins. It’s an opportunity for 250 international arms companies to try and flog their wares to the notorious Indonesian military. One of the companies that will be there is Britain’s own Rolls-Royce, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of engines for military aircraft.

Here is what Rolls Royce says about itself:

‘We aim to meet society’s expectations by setting a high standard of business conduct and personal behaviour … Rolls-Royce has come 10th in the top 100 companies in Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index for 2003.’

Here is what the Indonesia Human Rights Network says about how Indonesia uses its military hardware to commit an ongoing genocide on the people of West Papua, which it illegally invaded in the 1960s and still controls:

‘Violent military campaigns and extrajudicial killings have claimed the lives of thousands of West Papuans. Thousands more have been subjected to torture, disappearance, arbitrary detention, rape, or other forms of serious mental and bodily harm … the historical and contemporary evidence … strongly suggests that the Indonesian government has committed proscribed acts with the intent to destroy the West Papuans as such, in violation of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.’

Here is what the Indonesian military, armed by companies like Rolls Royce, are doing in West Papua right now, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper:

‘Eight people, including a church minister and a police officer, were killed in a series of attacks by unidentified gunmen between Aug. 17 and Nov. 12, 2004. Some 15 others, mostly children, died when more than 5,000 residents of 27 villages had to flee and take refuge in remote areas after they felt their lives were in danger due to the continued presence of the gunmen … reliable sources in the province told The Jakarta Post that the local unit of the Army’s Special Forces was involved in the incidents.’

Perhaps, like me, you can see some curious contradiction between Rolls-Royce’s claims of ‘social responsibility’ and the fact that its weapons are being sold, openly, to this regime. If so, you might like to take it up with the company.

You can phone Rolls Royce on 020 7222 9020. Ask to speak to the CEO, Sir John Rose. Perhaps he can explain how his company squares this ethical circle? Or you could email him on  john.rose@rolls-royce.com

If you get a response, please pass it on to the Free West Papua Campaign. Email:  paul@paulkingsnorth.net

Read more about the West Papuan Genocide at www.freewestpapua.org

Paul Kingsnorth
- e-mail: paul@paulkingsnorth.net
- Homepage: http://www.paulkingsnorth.net

Comments

Display the following comment

  1. see also — .
Publish your news
-->

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Oxford Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech