Indonesia now a boom for foreign firms, banks

=== [PDF page 1] === Page 10 DAILY WORLD -t-li Tuesday, July 8,1969 as a ruse ’s aims in SE Asia wanDerra half of the old base, is to be retained as a Royal Navy stor age area. The big Tengah airbase in Sin Daily World Foreign Department gapore, the finest Royal Air Indonesia has two important turning points in Its Force overseas base, is to be ern history. One came after September 30, 1965, when kept up, with Australian air Indonesian military led by General Suharto force units stationed there. This is a terminal to be used by air massacre of perhaps as many as 566,000 Communists. The VV.-.V lifted British troops who are second, not so well-publicized, came In January 1967, when pledged to return in case of any the Suharto regime passed a new foreign investments “emergency.” In January 1969 law: in the words of one U.S. commentator, this “flung m■ '■■■■ ithe RAF staged an exercise in open the door to foreign investment” in Indonesia. It is 111 m which it flew a force from Brit ain to Tengah in 18 hours, using not surprising that all of General Suharto’s economic ad tanker planes and brief stop visors were trained in the U.S. overs in Bahrein (Persian Gulf) Article 15 of the 1967 law grants cession for Halmahera and Moluc and Gan (Indian Ocean). foreign capital a five-year ex cas Islands. The Japanese hope to Coping with ‘emergencies’ emption on corporate taxes after find at least 50 miiiion tons- of EDWARD HEATH At Canberra an “Operation they start production, which in nickel. Conservative Leader Bersatu Pudu” (Complete Unity) effect spurs on the foreign com When the matter of West Irian’s was set j up for July 1970, in panies to drag out through the self-determination comes upfin; , which 2,000 British infantry plus “open door” as much as they can August, Indonesia has announced support troops would be flown possibly carry in those five years. it will consult with about 1,000 from Britain to Malaysia to Before the 1965 massacre, the leaders of various groups arid prove that they could return in big U.S. monopoly combine, Cal- tribes about the future of the terr a hurry to cope with “emer tex (Standard of California and itory which has been under Indon gencies.” The Royal Navy and Texaco) had $520 million invested esian control since 1962. a large number of planes will in Indonesian oil, threatened by The imperialist banking inter also take pdrt.: then-Premier Sukarno’s April 30, ests, thrown out by Sukarno, have A jungle warfare training 1965 nationalization of all foreign come back into Indonesia: Bank camp, for counter-guerrilla train enterprises in Indonesia. of America, American ^Ixpress, ing is to be maintained perma First National City Bank; United nently after 1971 at Kota Tinggi California Bank, ami Japanese, in southern Malaya, where at When the Suharto regime threw Hong Kong, Dutch, and Thai banks least a battalion of British open thousands of square miles of are involved. So is Chase Manhat troops will be based “almost all Indonesian off-shore areas to oil tan. the year around.” exploration, there was a mad The Canberra communique scramble among the oil compan stated that military sources “en ies to get in on the deal.. Among visage the need for several hun In November 1967, Time. Inc., JOHN J. GORTON those who came in were Atlantic dred Britons to remain in Sin Australian Premier Richfield, Mobil, Phillips, Tenn- organized a high-level conference gapore and Malaysia after 1971. eco. Union Carbide, AGIP (Ital of 70 U.S. business leaders and They would have training, ad ian), Japex and Kyushu (Japan), Indonesian government officials ministrative and logistic jobs to and Natomas. Up until 1967, Na- in Geneva, Switzerland; Among |Hi maintain the training and stag tomas was a little-known shipping those attending were George Ball, ing operations by all three Brit concern, but then it acquired 71,- the former Asst Secretary of ish services.” Furthermore, a 000 square miles of off-shore In State, now chairman of Lehman * British garrison of 10,000 troops David Rockefeller, donesian oil concessions. In May Brothers; in Hongkong is not to be affect president Chase Manhattan; of this year, Natomas and Atlantic ed at all by the “withdrawal” Robert E. Montgomery’ of East Richfield, working together, hit policy. oil in five separate areas in this ern Air Lines; and Rudolph A.. Policy reversal possible Peterson, president of the Bank of OMmssa zone and Natomas stock boomed. An even more startling feature The imperialist monopolies America. of the British Labor Govern Indonesian Foreign Minister. have been especially interested in ment’s “withdrawal,” officially Adam Malik told them: “It is very Indonesia’s part of New Guinea, noted by the Canberra meeting, known as West Irian. (The other heartening to observe that inter is that the so-called rundown national private enterprise is part of New Guinea is controlled program is to terminate at the showing such a willingness to con by Australia.) J end of 1971, which is nine tribute to the development and In 1968, the U.S. company Free months beyond the time when stability of my eountfy.”; port Sulphur spent $77 million the present Labor Government General Suharto’s regime still exploring for copper in West Irian DENIS HEALEY can hold office. keeps an estimated 60,000 “Com and came up with ore samples in British Defense Minister This leaves room for a.re munists” penned up in concentra dicating 4 percent copper present versal of the whole policy in tans and the Singapore mer tion camps in Indonesia, although in underground ore bodies. (Some the event that a Conservative chants and businessmen have some camps were closed down U.S.-based copper companies are government comes to power. It complained about being abandon after all the prisoners had been making good profits on ores of.02 is reported that Lee Kuan Yew ed,, and Australia and New Zea executed. One European resident percent in Arizona and Utah, by of Singapore insisted on this land have objected about being of Indonesia, asked to give a fig way of comparison.). time provision. left with the expense of defend ure on how many were killed in The copper deposits the CarDefence Minister Denis Healey ing therri. the 1965 massacre, said, *T can stensz Mts. of West Irian, are es announced after the Canberra As the details of the British only judge |>y the reduction in the S SiSil timated at 33 million tons of ore conference that in addition Brit “withdrawal” policy seeped out plantation work force,.. so many and have a 41 percent iron con of the Canberra conference it ain would continue after 1971 workers were killed...” to maintain a military planning tent. became apparent that nobody, — TOM FOLEY staff at the headquarters of the imperialists or puppets, needed Southeast Asia Treaty Organiza to have worried. Said Britain's tion, and that British forces Defence Minister, Denis Healey, In March of this year, U.S. would continue to take part in msm actual bases may not be there Steel, through its Pacific Nikkei SEATO exercises the area but “we giail be around pretty and in actual operations “if the Company, acquired a 1,100 square frequently. British Government deemed it mile concession for nickel ex Around, even after 1971, will ploration on Waigo Island and the necessary.” be at least four big British war From the left wing of the Bri Sentani area of West Irian. U.S. ships which will continue to use tish Labor Party, which pressed Steel hopes to get 20,000 tons of the Singapore naval base. This, most strongly jor abandoning nickel a year nut erf the conces now called a “commercial Soviet navel sj East of Suez military bases, has sion, plus cobalt as a by product yard,” although ostensibly turned International Nickel of Canada of a rocket cruiser. come at least one voice endors over to the Singapore govern in litas got a 25,000 square mite snips, two suomannes, a i ing the Healey doctrine Ray ment, is to be managed under ship and a tanker, now concession area Sulawesi (Cel mond Fletcher, one of the Tri contract by the huge British » in Swan Hunter shipyard interests, bune group of Labor MPs, de ebes Island), and Indonesia Nickel Atlantic, will visit clared at a seminar on Southeast Development Corp., a combine of with Britons remaining in key 2647. Die positions on the new yard’s. Asian “defence” held on June 9 nine Japanese corporations, got a 35*year, 15,000 square mite cooboard; 120 acres, nearly oneContinued on page 11 By WILLIAM J. POMEROY Dally World Correspondent J LONDON, July 1 (By airmail) Some new twists in a nowfamiliar imperialist game of "withdrawing in order to stay” are making their appearance in Southeast Asia, where a grantH of * ‘ independence’ ’ has screened neo-colonial operations lot the past two decades. Nix on s contribution to the gam e, withdrawing 25,(MX) troops from South Vietnam while his administration intensifies its war of aggression, is surpassed only by British imperialism’s neat trick of remaining while going home. . This was revealed in sa Brit ish Commonwealth regional Five Power Defencb Conference held in Canberra, Australia, June 1921. The five powers—Britain, Australia. New Zealand, Malay sia and Singapore-met to dis cuss the working out of the pro claimed British policy of with drawing military bases from the area. It seems that it is all a matter of semantics, and that word “withdrawal” has mean ings not to be found in any dic tionary. Harold Wilson’s Labor Govern ment announced formally in Jan uary 1968 that it would pull out of existing “East of Suez” mili tary bases by the end of 1971. To be abandoned were the big naval and air bases in Singa pore and the infantry and air bases in the Malaysian federa tion. The first stage of handing over the installations in Singa pore to the government of Lee Kuan Yew in that*island nation was begun in November 1968. Sterling considerations Underlying this alleged deci sion was Britain’s crippling un favorable balance of payments position. The “East of Suez” bases have cost nearly $250 million annually to maintain, and the Wilson government argu ed that this could be saved by passing the burden of “defend ing” the area off on to its neocolonial allies. Imperialist policy, however, has &ad deeper problems than this to face. The existence of foreign military bases in Asia has been a stimulus to national liberation movements, and the -I scheme has been to remove bases from the Asian mainland and |to pull them back to small i islands in the Indian Ocean and V-ScJ elsewhere, while puppets on the mainland are propped up with military aid. The United States has been developing a similar stand-by scheme for the after math of being driven wit of Vietnam. The great British “withdraw al” has encountered some muchpublicized; opposition. For one thing, the pleader of the Tory Party, Edward Heath, and his shadow ‘foreign affairs secre tary, Alee Douglas-Home, have announced that they will reverse the policy on getting back to power, pointing to the fact! that Britain has over $2.5 billion in investments East of Suez that eld annual profits of $750 million and that have to be “pro- Oil rbsh Workers killed Nickel grab Soviet na visit Havana i Furthermore, tN Malayan sulmm Indonesia now a boi foreign, firms, banks - m tv? J nnaii