President to inaugurate new Freeport town<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto is scheduled to inaugurate on
\nTuesday a new town in Irian Jaya built by the giant American
\ncopper and gold mining company PT Freeport Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Irian Jaya Governor Jacob Pattipi told reporters that the town
\nhas been built near the hilltop town of Tembagapura where
\nFreeport conducts its largest mining operation.<\/p>\n
The new town will accommodate mostly Freeport workers and
\nspare them from having to journey the long distance each day to
\nget to work. It is also located on flatter ground.<\/p>\n
\"The President has already prepared a name for the new town,
\nbut I don't know it yet. He said it's a combination of Indonesian
\nlanguage and the local dialect,\" Pattipi said after meeting with
\nthe head of state at the Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
The governor said he also discussed additional funding for the
\ndevelopment of education in Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
On another matter, Pattipi told reporters that the military is
\nstill chasing Irian Jaya separatist rebels who are holding
\nhostage an entire village close to the Papua New Guinea border in
\nthe Merauke regency.<\/p>\n
He said that based on reports from the local military
\ncommander, the rebels are using the villagers as \"human shields\"
\nto repel any attempt by security forces to get closer.<\/p>\n
\"It is no wonder that we hear accusations that soldiers are
\nfiring at the people. They are being used as shields, but the
\nactual target of the bullets are the rebels,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The governor could not give a precise number of villagers held
\nhostage but said that a typical village in Irian Jaya has a
\npopulation of about 100 people.<\/p>\n
He suspected that as in the past, the rebels are using the 10
\nkilometer buffer zone that Indonesia and Papua New Guinea have
\nestablished along their common border, he said.<\/p>\n
They use this \"no man's land\" for hiding from the military, he
\nadded. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-to-inaugurate-new-freeport-town-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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