Bomb explosion hits Newmont's office in Lombok
Bomb explosion hits Newmont's office in Lombok
JAKARTA (JP): A bomb exploded Friday morning at the office of
copper and gold mining company PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara in the
West Nusa Tenggara provincial capital of Mataram on the island of
Lombok.
Company spokesperson Iradati Fuad said the explosive, which
appeared to be a "small" one, went off at 3.40 a.m. behind the
Mataram office, causing minor damage to the premises.
No casualties were reported as the 54 employees stationed at
the office were at home, except for the security guards, Iradati
said.
She said the police have been investigating the case and
Newmont has told its 54 employees to stay home until the police
declared the office safe for them to resume activities.
She said Newmont's copper and gold mining operation in the
Batu Hijau area on the island of Sumbawa ran normally despite the
incident.
"There is no special instruction to step up security at the
mine following the incident. Security at the mine is as tight as
usual," she said.
The bomb blast took place after a series of bomb blasts rocked
the country, especially Jakarta, killing dozens of people.
The most fatal incident happened mid September when a bomb
exploded in the basement of the Jakarta Stock Exchange building,
killing 11 people. The police had arrested dozens of people
suspected of being involved in the bombing.
Antara reported the bomb explosion was audible up to a
distance of one kilometer and caused a half-meter-wide hole in
the building.
Speaker of the province's council HL Srinate speculated that
the bomb had been probably placed by people who were disappointed
by what they saw as the small contribution of the company to the
promotion of the welfare of the local people.
"But this is only speculation," Srinate was quoted by the news
agency as saying.
He said many locals had high hopes that the presence of the
company would bring them a lot of benefit but the company did not
meet their expectations.
"The people hope with the presence of the company, the roads
will be improved. As it turned out, the condition of the existing
roads has worsened because of the company's heavy equipment and
fully-loaded vehicles," the council's speaker said.
He said the council had once proposed that the company build a
special port near the mine so that the local people could benefit
from its presence by opening small shops at the port.
The company however turned down the proposal, he said.
He also said the public had been initially informed that the
mine mostly contained gold, but now the company has been
spreading information that the mine contains more copper than
gold.
"We believe the information, because we are stupid. We don't
know precisely whether the mine contains gold, or even uranium,"
Srinate said.
Srinate said he personally preferred to delay the development
of the Batu Hijau mine until the Indonesian people were skilled
enough to develop it themselves.
Srinate said he could understand that the locals, especially
those living outside the "mine circle", had accumulated
disappointment over Newmont's presence and often staged protests
against the company.
Newmont has given priority to those living inside the "mine
circle", meaning around the mine, in its recruitment and
community development program. (jsk)