From: "Vikki John" <VIKKI-AT-lexsun.law.uts.edu.au>
Date:          Tue, 3 Feb 1998 09:46:29 GMT-1000
Subject: M-NEWS: (Fwd) BOUGAINVILLE - Letter of Support from BFM



From:	BOUGAINVILLE FREEDOM MOVEMENT

Congratulations and all the very best with your campaign to expose the 
corporate thuggery of Rio Tinto Mining Company.

Over 15,000 people are dead on Bougainville because they dared to say "no" 
to Rio Tinto.  Rio Tinto destroyed forests, fauna, the river systems - all for 
the sake of money without any respect for the people of Bougainville or their 
lives.  Rio Tinto's Panguna copper/gold mine polluted the rivers so badly that 
even the few remaining fish had ulcers on them.  When the people of Bougainville 
presented such samples of the fish to the management of the Panguna copper 
mine Rio Tinto (CRA/RTZ) denied that the ulcerations on the fish were due to 
the pollution from the  mine.  

Rio Tinto today still inform their shareholders that the war on Bougainville 
"has nothing to do with the Panguna copper mine".  Rio Tinto tells their 
shareholders that "the war on Bougainville is due to an inter-tribal problem".  
Rio Tinto's chairman Mr Uhrig quoted that ..."some of the natives have very 
dark skin with tight frizzy hair whilst the others have lighter skin with less frizzy 
hair", showing his racism rather than his understanding of the fundamental 
reasons for the war on Bougainville.

The people of Bougainville opposed the mine from the very start.  
The indigenous land owners, primarily women, resisted police and lay down 
with their babies in front of bulldozers in an attempt to stop the mining of their 
land.  After 20 years of protests, petitions, lobbying and attempts to negotiate 
an equitable agreement with Rio Tinto the land owners had had enough.  In 1989, 
the people of Bougainville forcibly closed Rio Tinto's copper mine at Panguna 
and they have kept it closed ever since.  The Papua New Guinea and Australian 
governments responded to the action of the Bougainville people and 
have waged a prolonged and brutal war against the people with the purpose of 
re-opening the Panguna copper mine.

Peace initiatives are currently taking place to end the war on Bougainville.  
It was interesting to note on 30 January 1998, that the Bougainville mining 
company `do not want to jeopardise the peace initiatives by prematurely raising 
questions concerning the future of the Panguna mine on Bougainville'.  The 
company secretary, Paul Coleman said, "It is recognised that any return to 
production at Panguna will require an agreement between the company and 
shareholders on the terms under which mining can be carried out".    
And what about the people of Bougainville?

Vikki John, 
BOUGAINVILLE FREEDOM MOVEMENT,
PO Box 134, Erskineville.  NSW.  2043  Australia
Telephone:  61-2-9558.2730

Email  v.john-AT-uts.edu.au     Website  http://www.magna.com.au/~sashab/