Press Release: Nickel Industry  Downstreaming: A Devil Undermining Lives

By JATAM, Oct 11, 2024

The recent statement by Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, that many “devils” were disrupting the nickel downstreaming program, as one of President Joko Widodo’s proud programs, was absurd and misleading.

Minister Bahlil claimed that behind the success of Indonesia’s downstreaming, there are disruptions he referred to as devils. “This is it again. Well, but it’s not that there are no devils, ladies and gentlemen. There are many devils now. For commodities derived from nickel downstream derivative products, we have become the largest in the world market,” said Bahlil, as quoted by news service CNBC on Thursday, October 10, 2024.

JATAM believes that Minister Bahlil’s statement above is true. However, the devils themselves are extractive industries such as mining and nickel downstreaming that haunts the lives of residents almost 24 hours.

In the 10 years the Widodo administration has held political power, nickel mining and downstreaming have robbed people of their place to live, starting from land grabbing, destruction of forest areas that trigger deforestation, pollution of groundwater and surface water, to coastal degradation and destruction of marine ecosystems.

The downstreaming that the Joko Widodo administration glorifies has also impacted by disrupting the health of citizens, triggered  conflict, violence and criminalization, as well as the  imprisonment of citizens.

This series of crimes have been  experienced by almost every nickel center, some of which are spread across Sulawesi Island, North Maluku, to West Papua. Including the island of Kalimantan whose coal continues to be dismantled to serve nickel smelters.

Ironically, the administration of President Joko Widodo is actually working to serve the nickel downstreaming agenda through various policies and regulations that provide legal guarantees, for the security and expansion of industrial estates as well as a variety of incentives for industry players.

Some of the mining and downstream industry players are even individuals in President  Widodo’s political power circle, namely Bahlil Lahadalia and President Widodo’s children and sons-in-law. As a result nickel industry downstreaming has not been for the people, but serves  the interests of the business actors involved and the countries of origin of these industry players.

Original © 2024 Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM)

This article is based on https://jatam.org/id/lengkap/Setan-Hilirisasi-Nikel.