ON Thursday last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) made his position clear with regards to the Freeport dilemma. The government, he said, will not close PT Freeport Indonesia as demanded by some groups in Papua because such a closure would drag Indonesia into international arbitration. This would be counterproductive to the investment climate, he said after a cabinet meeting at the presidential office.

The Indonesian government is in