Two Shot in Latest Freeport Attack in Papua

Christian Motte & Farouk Arnaz
 

Police standing guard outside a clinic where the body of a Brimob officer was taken after a fatal car crash along the road linking the Freeport mine and Timika. (Photo: Tjahjo Eranius, AFP)
Two Shot in Latest Freeport Attack in Papua

Another convoy of PT Freeport Indonesia vehicles came under attack in Papua on Wednesday, leaving a Timika Police officer and a local Freeport employee with gunshot wounds at the same place as an Australian was shot and killed in a similar ambush near the Grasberg mining complex on July 11.

The latest attack brings the number of people injured to 13, most of them police officers, since apparently well-trained and organized attackers used what is believed to be military weaponry to kill Drew Nicholas Grant, a 29-year-old project manager at Freeport.
A police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officer believed to be responding to the first ambush on July 11 was also killed or fell to his death down a ravine in a bid to escape an attack.

The total number of dead and injured does not include a second incident on Wednesday, in which Brimob Second Brig. Ismail Todohu was killed and two soldiers, one local Freeport employee and another Brimob officer were injured in what police are tentatively labeling a car accident, but which occurred just six miles from the scene of Wednesday’s ambush.

Brig. Gen. Sulistyo Ishak, a National Police spokesman, confirmed the latest casualties on the notorious road linking the mine and Timika, which occurred despite the arrests of 15 ethnic Papuans in relation to what police said were a number of attacks, including the fatal incidents.

He said the latest attack involved an ambush on a convoy of 18 Freeport buses at Mile 51 on the outskirts of the world’s largest gold mine. The two casualties from the attack have received medical attention.

“They have been shot and are being treated at Kuala Kencana medical clinic,” he told reporters, without providing further details.
In relation to the car accident, Sulistyo denied speculation that sabotage was involved.

“I do not know about it. Let’s wait for our officers to conduct investigations into both incidents,” he said.

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. AY Nasution, the head of the XVII District Level Military Command (Kodam) in Papua, denied that the members of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) were implicated in any of the attacks, particularly the military-style ambushes outside the mine.

“None of our members are involved, including deserters or former soldiers,” Nasution said during a news conference in Timika conducted with Papua Chief Insp. Gen. Bagus Ekodanto.

He also rejected allegations that a member of the Special Forces (Kopassus) was arrested in relation to the killing of Grant at Mile 51.

“It’s not true,” he said.

When asked about the bullets used in the attacks, Nasution said they were manufactured by state-owned military equipment manufacturer PT Pindad.

Bagus said that 15 suspects — not 17 suspects as reported earlier — were arrested at Mile 27.

Most of 15 suspects were secured by members of the Amungme tribe, who live in Freeport area. Despite the fact that one of them was a Freeport employee, he will still be questioned by police, Bagus said.

The 15 were identified as Domingus Beanal, 24; Tommy Beanal, 25; Yani Sarin Beanal, 18; Eltinus Beanal, 26; Yonas Uwamang, 65); Viktor Beanal, 30; Simon Beanal, 30; Petrus Kanisius Taturdas, 34; Samuel Totti, 25; Amom Yawame, 30; Yoseph Sikora, 20; Matius Agustinus Yeristono, 24; Bernadus Natipe, 23; Yustinus Boaka, 21; and Andel Kiwak.

Papua is home to a four-decade, low-level insurgency. Members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) — who see Freeport as a symbol of outside rule — were initially blamed by authorities for the latest violence in the province.

Some analysts, however, believe the shootings stem from a rivalry between the police and the military over multimillion-dollar illegal gold mining or protection contracts for the mine.

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Papua Assembly Urges Open Probe of Freeport Mine Shootings

The Papuan People's Assembly, a body representing the cultural and social
rights of Papuans, on Friday urged the police to find those responsible
for a recent series of armed attacks at the massive Freeport gold and
copper mine in Timika.

Frans Wosprakrik, the deputy chief of the assembly, also known as the MRP,
asked that the culprits be found quickly, and pledged that the assembly
would support the investigation as long as it was open and fair. He also
said that calls demanding the closure of PT Freeport Indonesia's mining
operations there by some communities and nongovernmental organizations
were unwarranted.

"We can look at the problem and find the solutions to it," Wosprakrik
said. "It might be that people's rights were neglected, which needs to be
addressed."

He said those behind the Timika shootings likely had grievances against
the mining company's operations in the area, speculating that the attacks
were carried out by people who felt personally disgruntled by Freeport.

"If there is dissatisfaction, it must be revealed, solved and ended," he
said.

Bery Nahdian Forqan, the executive director of leading environmental
watchdog Walhi, is among those calling on Freeport to end its activities
in Papua. He has argued that unless this was done, the level of violence
would continue to increase.

"The best way to solve the problem is to stop the source of the problem,
which is Freeport," he said.

Rights group Imparsial said in a press release that the attacks in Timika
had to have been planned and conducted by trained assailants, with
experience in handling weapons and the expertise to evade tight security.

Arkilaus Arnesius Baho, the chairman of the National League for the
Struggle of the People of West Papua, said that the primary motivation
behind the violence in Timika was likely the perceived injustice among
ethnic Papuans surrounding the exploitation of the province's natural
resources.

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Indonesian Police Beef Up Security Around Freeport Mine

National Police have dispatched 150 officers, including antiterror police,
to Timika, Papua, to support local officers and the military in their hunt
for suspects following violent attacks targeting Freeport employees.

The announcement comes despite comments from Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen.
Bagus Ekodanto on Thursday, who said that despite the recent attacks, no
additional police forces would be sent to the area.

Shots were fired early this week on a security-bus convoy near the
Grasberg copper and gold mine in Papua province, the latest in several
attacks that have occurred since July .

"Actually, we are already sharing duties in a joint patrol of the area
with the military and together we have built a task force named Amole,
which is headed by the Papua Police chief," National Police Chief Gen.
Bambang Hendarso Danuri said on Friday, adding that his men must succeed
in capturing the attackers, regardless of the rugged terrain in Timika.

"They are armed criminals. Our main concerns are the areas of Tinggi
Nambut [Puncak Jaya district] and Timika [Mimika district] now," he said.

The attacks have left four people dead — two Freeport employees and two
police officers — and left dozens of others wounded.

Bagus Ekodanto, who is scheduled to be replaced by former antiterror
police chief Brig. Gen. Bekto Suprapto, noted that a soldier was shot in
the leg when returning from a routine patrol near the 37-mile mark in Kali
Kopi, Timika, on Wednesday.

He said he believed the attackers may have been aiming at drawing the
world's attention to their existence ahead of Dec. 1, the anniversary of
the1961 West Papuan declaration of independence from Dutch colonial rule.

The date has since been taken up by pro-independence activists there as
their national day.

Local military leaders initially blamed the attacks on members of the
separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM), but police investigations have
produced no evidence of their involvement.

Rouge elements of the Indonesian Armed Forces are also suspects.

Papua Police, in cooperation with the 17th Regional Military Command, have
deployed more than 1,000 personnel to secure the Freeport area.

Freeport vehicles now only travel by daylight under heavy security escorts.

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Papua Tribe Targets Mining Giant Freeport in $30 Billion Legal Action

The Amungme tribe on Thursday filed a $30 billion lawsuit against Freeport
McMoRan, one of the world's major mining firms, for alleged damages
sustained over 40 years of operations on their ancestral lands in
Indonesia's Papua province.

"From 1969 to 2009, our land has been exploited and we have not had a fair
share of the wealth it generates," Titus Natkime, a lawyer for the tribe,
said ahead of the lawsuit hearing at the South Jakarta District Court.

He represents about 90 Amungmes who live on the lowlands of a mountainous
area in Papua's Mimika district, where Freeport runs a gold and copper
mine.

"The tribe holds the traditional rights to own the land and all its
resources, but other people took away all the financial benefits from us,"
the lawyer said.

The plaintiffs claim they are the legitimate owners of 2.6 million
hectares of land on which the mine is located, and that the 1967 work
contract between the government and Freeport was made without their
approval.

They also questioned the promised trust fund of $1 million a year that
they said was never received.

The tribe has further accused Freeport of the illegal eviction of
indigenous people, with the support of government troops.

The lawsuit is also directed against the government and PT Indocopper
Investama, a Bakrie group company, each owning a 9.36 percent stake in PT
Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of the US-based mining giant.

The plaintiffs have demanded that the court fine the defendants "$20
billion for environmental damages caused by the mining activities and $10
billion for human rights violations."

"I have lived there for more than 40 years, and things have been getting
worse since Freeport started to operate," tribal leader Yunus Omabak said.

"We live poorly in our own land, our children live poorly too. We can't
move because we have no money," he said.

Presiding Judge Suharto suggested mediation for the parties. "You have 40
days to settle the case through dialogue. The court will appoint our
judge, Ahmad Yusak, as mediator."

Freeport spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan said in an e-mail to the Jakarta
Globe that since 2001, the company had paid $25.9 million into a trust
fund, $17 million of which had been withdrawn by two foundations set up by
the Amungme and Kamoro tribes.

"Since 1996, PT Freeport Indonesia has allocated 1 percent of its gross
revenue for a society development program, and in 2008 the partnership
fund reached some $324 million," he said.

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Indonesia moves to repatriate West Papuans

Indonesia moves to repatriate West Papuans
Print Email

Updated Fri Oct 9, 2009 6:22pm AEST

Indonesia is currently undertaking a program to repatriate several
thousand West Papuan freedom activists living in Papua New Guinea. The
West Papuans have been living PNG since they left their homeland during
their struggle for political freedom over the last 30 years - and have
called PNG home.

Presenter: Firmin Nanol
Speaker: Spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy in Port Moresby, Joneri Alimin
Listen: Windows Media

NANOL: The Indonesian Embassy in Papua New Guinea is organising a
''Voluntary Repatriation'' program to help West Papuan separatists who are
willing to return home.

Embassy spokesperson, Joneri Alimin says no one is being forced to return.

He says the Indonesian authorities will guarantee the safety of those who
volunteer to return.

ALIMIN: It is a voluntary repatriation program for West Papuans who want
to go back to their homeland voluntarily and if they want to go back, we
asking the Indonesian Government if they will facilitate them.

NANOL: Mr Alimin, is their security guaranteed when they go back. The
Indonesian and the Kopasus security officers will not torture them and
intimidate them?

ALIMIN: For sure, 100 percent.. the Indonesian Government would guarantee
them that they will be safe when they return to their homeland. And you
know until now, there is no report of like harassment from the West
Papuans who already repatriated back to Papua Province with guarantee.

NANOL: How can that be guaranteed? Are they going to sign some form of
documents to say that they will not be tortured, intimidated. How can you
guarantee that?

ALIMIN: Yes, you know of course if they want to join this program, they
have to fill some document. They process the statement they want to go
back. The government in Indonesia also have a think about the program and
also already prepared everything regarding the security you mean.

NANOL: A group of West Papuans living in the capital Port Moresby claim
the voluntary repatriation program is not in their interest.

West Papua pro-independence activist Samuel Ingamar says they will only
return when their dream for political freedom is realised.

He says they will not volunteer to return as life will be hard for them
once they return.

INGAMAR: I don't think it is good for West Papuan, because the tension in
West Papua, it is not okay for West Papuans to return home.

NANOL: Do you think their safety will be guaranteed?

INGAMAR: It is not safe, because we all are West Papuans. We come for one
motive for West Papua to be self-independent. When you go back to West
Papua, you are fulfilling the dreams of the Indonesians. Indonesia does
not need West Papuans. They only need our resource our land and what's the
use of us going back there. We all are freedom fighters that seek for
independent for West Papua, and are going back to West Papua is not a
solution for West Papuans as freedom fighters.

NANOL: You and some of these West Papuans who are living up there in
Moresby, are some of your members also involved or given the names for
voluntary repatriation or what is the situation?

INGAMAR: For us here, a total of 169. We did not put our names there for
repatriation. We are against that program. We only put our leg to West
Papua when we get self-independence only, but volunteer back to Indonesia,
no.

NANOL: Indonesian officials are visiting provinces in Papua New Guinea
where West Papuan political activists and families are living to inform
them of the ''Voluntary Repatriation'' program.

Spokesperson, Joneri Alimin told Pacific Beat, an estimated seven hundred
West Papuans have indicated they wish to return since last year.

He says they hope to repatriate nearly 400 West Papuans including women
and children by next month.

Posted via email from papuanews's posterous

Indonesia moves to repatriate West Papuans

Indonesia moves to repatriate West Papuans
Print Email

Updated Fri Oct 9, 2009 6:22pm AEST

Indonesia is currently undertaking a program to repatriate several
thousand West Papuan freedom activists living in Papua New Guinea. The
West Papuans have been living PNG since they left their homeland during
their struggle for political freedom over the last 30 years - and have
called PNG home.

Presenter: Firmin Nanol
Speaker: Spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy in Port Moresby, Joneri Alimin
Listen: Windows Media

NANOL: The Indonesian Embassy in Papua New Guinea is organising a
''Voluntary Repatriation'' program to help West Papuan separatists who are
willing to return home.

Embassy spokesperson, Joneri Alimin says no one is being forced to return.

He says the Indonesian authorities will guarantee the safety of those who
volunteer to return.

ALIMIN: It is a voluntary repatriation program for West Papuans who want
to go back to their homeland voluntarily and if they want to go back, we
asking the Indonesian Government if they will facilitate them.

NANOL: Mr Alimin, is their security guaranteed when they go back. The
Indonesian and the Kopasus security officers will not torture them and
intimidate them?

ALIMIN: For sure, 100 percent.. the Indonesian Government would guarantee
them that they will be safe when they return to their homeland. And you
know until now, there is no report of like harassment from the West
Papuans who already repatriated back to Papua Province with guarantee.

NANOL: How can that be guaranteed? Are they going to sign some form of
documents to say that they will not be tortured, intimidated. How can you
guarantee that?

ALIMIN: Yes, you know of course if they want to join this program, they
have to fill some document. They process the statement they want to go
back. The government in Indonesia also have a think about the program and
also already prepared everything regarding the security you mean.

NANOL: A group of West Papuans living in the capital Port Moresby claim
the voluntary repatriation program is not in their interest.

West Papua pro-independence activist Samuel Ingamar says they will only
return when their dream for political freedom is realised.

He says they will not volunteer to return as life will be hard for them
once they return.

INGAMAR: I don't think it is good for West Papuan, because the tension in
West Papua, it is not okay for West Papuans to return home.

NANOL: Do you think their safety will be guaranteed?

INGAMAR: It is not safe, because we all are West Papuans. We come for one
motive for West Papua to be self-independent. When you go back to West
Papua, you are fulfilling the dreams of the Indonesians. Indonesia does
not need West Papuans. They only need our resource our land and what's the
use of us going back there. We all are freedom fighters that seek for
independent for West Papua, and are going back to West Papua is not a
solution for West Papuans as freedom fighters.

NANOL: You and some of these West Papuans who are living up there in
Moresby, are some of your members also involved or given the names for
voluntary repatriation or what is the situation?

INGAMAR: For us here, a total of 169. We did not put our names there for
repatriation. We are against that program. We only put our leg to West
Papua when we get self-independence only, but volunteer back to Indonesia,
no.

NANOL: Indonesian officials are visiting provinces in Papua New Guinea
where West Papuan political activists and families are living to inform
them of the ''Voluntary Repatriation'' program.

Spokesperson, Joneri Alimin told Pacific Beat, an estimated seven hundred
West Papuans have indicated they wish to return since last year.

He says they hope to repatriate nearly 400 West Papuans including women
and children by next month.

Posted via email from papuanews's posterous