Anger against SpaceX from Indonesians

Indonesia is in talks with Elon Musk, offering the small island of Biak in Papua New Guinea as a “space island”, a launch site for the SpaceX rockets, which the government says will have a ” positive economic impact ” on residents.

However, the parties involved seem to be calculating without the hotelier, as the indigenous people of the island, also called Papua, are unanimously opposed to such a move, as they believe that a space base will lead to the deforestation of the island, increasing Indonesia’s military presence. and will threaten their future on the island. The chief of the tribe, Manfun Sroyer, said that the Papuans would be forced to leave their homes.

he spaceport will deprive us of the traditional hunting areas, damaging the nature on which our way of life depends. But if we protest, we will be arrested immediately. In 2002, the Russians wanted our land to launch satellites. We protested and many of us were arrested and interrogated; now they are back and this harassment and intimidation continues.

The location of Biak, one degree below Ecuador, is ideal for launching satellites because rockets need less fuel to orbit. The proximity of the site to natural resource reserves is another reason that is considered an ideal location.

West Papua has huge reserves of copper and nickel, two of the most important metals for rockets, as well as batteries used by Tesla. Elon Musk had told Indonesian officials in July that he would offer ” a huge contract for a long period of time if they mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way “.

It is worth noting that in 1998 on Biak Island one of the largest massacres in the history of the occupation of West Papua by Indonesia took place, with many civilians being tortured and killed, while their bodies were thrown into the sea by Indonesian security forces.