Blog: 23 Nov 04. Rolls Royce and Papua

23 November

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 let me know!

Posted by paul at November 23, 2004 11:30 AM

Comments

I received the following, completely inadequate and obviously standard response. The line "helps governments to maintain security, and support peace keeping and humanitarian missions" refers to the killing of 800,000 indigenous people then does it? Well, funnily enough, I'm not convinced.

"Thank you for your message to Sir John Rose.

Rolls-Royce has a small presence at the Indo-Defense exhibition in its role as a supplier of propulsion and power systems for defence equipment. We are not an arms supplier. However defence is a core part of our business and will continue to be so.

We believe that the provision of Rolls-Royce products and services to the defence sector around the world makes a vital and legitimate contribution to the security of nations. It helps governments to maintain security, and support peace keeping and humanitarian missions. Our ability to supply defence markets is rightly determined by the governments of the countries in which we manufacture these products.

The UK government, for example, implements its policy in respect of foreign trade through its Export Licensing arrangements administered by the DTI and other government departments, and we fully comply with these regulations in all the markets in which we operate.

Regards,
Martin
Head of Communications, Corporate Social Responsibility, Rolls-Royce plc
Tel: 44-1332-248912
e-mail: martin.nield@rolls-royce.com"

Posted by: daisy at November 24, 2004 04:22 PM

Thanks for posting this, Daisy. A few people who wrote to Rolls-Royce have told me they've received the same, standard response. I plan to write to the nice Mr Nield and ask him how he sleeps at night. Or something along those lines. If anyone else does the same, please let me know what he says...

Posted by: paul at November 24, 2004 05:16 PM

This news was sent to me by a friend who has been on the case:

'I just couldn't resist picking up the telephone and trying to speak to our Mr. Nield from Rolls-Royce. I think I may caught him by surprise. We had a surprisingly friendly chat. He clearly knows fuck all about what's going on down there and said their local office in Indonesia was dealing with this. He hardly knew where East Timor was, let alone Papua or Aceh. He had simply provided a corporate statement when requested, hence its blandness.

He's now a little more informed. I offered to send him footage of his belowed Hawk jets straffing villages... but he said it wasn't necessary. I did say that we had a large and growing network of people who are outraged by what is going on in Papua and Aceh, and that we would be doing all we can to let people know about RR's complicity in atrocities.

I even managed to wish him a nice weekend.'

Posted by: paul at December 1, 2004 12:25 PM

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