UNP MP in slander campaign against multinationals taking part in the development program.

Padmasiri de Silva reporting from Colombo.

Apparently as part of the United National Party’s strategy to drive multinational companies away from Sri Lanka, from taking part in the economic development program, Mr.Mahinda Samarasinghe, Opposition UNP MP questioned, in the parliament, the issue of morality in choosing Freeport McMoran for development of Eppawala phosphate deposits in Sri Lanka .

Mr.Samarasinghe further said;(Parliamentary debates - Hansard - Friday, 13th December 1996-page 2880-) ….......I would like to end just making reference to a front page news item in today’s ‘Island’, which says; "Government gives green light - Multinational venture to tap phosphate deposits"

It is talking about Eppawala Phosphate deposits. It says that one of the biggest companies in the world, a leader in the field, Freeport McMoran, is coming in with an investment of US$ 400 to 500 million on this Eppawala phosphate deposit.

I also did my homework Sir, I have done my homework some time ago on this because I keep in touch with the happenings as far as these Privatisation are concerned. I have a file this thick - I am ready to give it to you any time - on Freeport McMoran.

I have here a copy of the "International Herald Tribune". This is not a fly-by-night newspaper. It is the "International Herald Tribune" of Friday, 3rd November 1995. I would like to quote from it;

"Freeport’s Indonesia Mine Loses U.S. Insurance.

Overseas Private Investment Corp., a U.S. government agency has cancelled $100 million in political risk insurance for a huge gold mining project in Indonesia that is operated by Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc..,"

It goes on to say;

"Environmental groups have contended that local villagers can no longer drink water from the river after Freeport McMoran went here and created an environmental disaster.

In April, the Australian Council for Overseas Aid reported that 22 civilians and 15 guerrillas had been killed or had disappeared in the region. The report also accused Freeport security personnel of having taken part in several of the killings.

In August, the Roman Catholic Church of Jayapura reported that it had found evidence to support many of the allegations in the Australian report. The church’s report also included accusation of torture".

Now if you are really keen about your human rights record, I think you had better have another look at Freeport McMoran. I have here something which I got from the Internet.

There are several incidents. That is not just one incident about Freeport McMoran, there are several incidents. There is the famous letter from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to Freeport McMoran cancelling the $100 million risk insurance. Then there is an item -Trouble at Freeport-; there are eyewitness accounts of west Papuan resistance to the Freeport McMoran Mine in Irian Jaya, the massive human rights violations there. People have been kidnapped, they are abducted, killed, disappeared. We will have an environmental nightmare in our country if these people come.

This is a very valuable asset, Sir.

This is an asset which can be used by future generations of this country for 1000 years. Why do we need these multi-nationals to come here and extract everything, export it somewhere and then create a huge environmental disaster there?. What about the country’s interest?. Are we so damned hard up as to encourage these kinds of human rights violations into this country?.

There is one more thing, Sir, I have got some scientific papers here which I will also give you. They have shown that there is a chemical, actually a mineral called Thorium in these phosphate deposits. And, they say that this is one of the basic raw materials for nuclear energy. May be these people are up to something else. If it is such a valuable deposit, if there is Thorium to be found in this deposit, I think, we should have a serious look at this."

The people of Sri Lanka are really wondering as to why Mr Samarasinghe has gone into such details and isolating just one multinational company and wasting his own steam.

It is possible that the MP’s is apparently trying to slander McMoran in favour of some unknown competitor, under the protection of parliamentary privileges. Such behaviour is very common among politicians in Sri Lanka.

The most remarkable thing is that Mr Samarasinghe seems more worried about human rights violations than anybody else in Sri Lanka forgetting the fact that his own political party was responsible for the worst human rights violations in Sri Lankan history. More than 80,000 youths were massacred by the government sponsored terror groups few years ago.

During ethnic clashes in 1983, the houses and business establishments of the minority Tamil community were being systematically burnt and looted by the same political thugs who had very close links with the UNP government at that time. Brutality was unbelievable,. homes and shops were burnt, cars were doused with gasoline and lit, sometimes with the occupant inside. Some people were hacked to death, others burnt alive. The Presidential Commissions appointed now to investigate the terror and political assassinations are revealing, how the people were terrorised during the last 17 years by the institutionalised political violence instigated by these political gundas.

However, the people of Sri Lanka will not take Mr.Samarasinghe so seriously. His words reflect his own character. Mr..Samarasinghe has never denied to the allegation surfaced recently in the political circles that he gave up his administrative officer’s job to join the United National party through the influence made by his former cabinet minister friend allegedly to be his intimate homosexual partner.

US firm denies purchase of phosphate mine

A newspaper in Colombo reported the North Western Provincial Council’s decision to take over the Eppawela phosphate mine in order to prevent its sale to Freeport McMoRan Resource Partner, a New Orleans based firm. The report which was also published on the Internet quoted North Western Chief Minister Jayasena Dissanaike as saying that the Sri Lankan ministry of industries has already made arrangements to sell the mine to McMoran and that the sale will cause "billions in losses" to the country. The provincial council will invoke land powers granted to it under the constitution to execute the take-over of the mine, the chief minister was further quoted as saying.

Christine Lemkou, a manager of Communication at McMoran, denying the recent report told Express that the company is negotiating with Sri Lankan authorities to obtain approval to begin feasibility studies which will address among other factors, the social and environmental impact of the proposed mining project.

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