Police acknowledge receiving money from Freeport

Police acknowledge receiving money from Freeport
OR
Police acknowledge receiving Freeport money

Muninggar Sri Saraswati
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar acknowledged on Tuesday
that police personnel also received monthly allowances from PT
Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan
Gold and Copper Inc.

"Yes, but the (National Police) Headquarters did not (receive
money)," Da'i announced after a hearing with House of
Representatives Commission I for media, information and defense
affairs.

Da'i was asked if the police also received a share of the
US$5.6 million that PT Freeport Indonesia paid to the Indonesian
Military (TNI) in 2002.

Da'i did not reveal the amount that the police received from
Freeport, saying only that the funds were used to build a station
for the elite police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in Papua.

Brimob is a rapid-response police unit, which is occasionally
deployed in restive areas such as Aceh and Papua.

Freeport said in a recent statement that it gave some US$5.6
million to TNI in 2002 alone.

"Since PT Freeport Indonesia began its operations in Papua,
the Indonesian Military, along with police, has had a presence in
the Contract of Work area to provide law enforcement and to
protect the mining operations area," the statement said.

The money was use to build infrastructure and houses, buy fuel
and repair vehicles, among other things. The money was also
intended for allowances to cover administrative costs and
community assistance programs carried out by the military and
police.

Last year, more than 2,000 security personnel were stationed
at the company's mining site. The deployment included coast
guards at the port, Air Force personnel at the airport and riot
police to deal with civil disturbances.

Freeport also confirmed that it had allocated "a small amount"
of funds to the soldiers as cash allowances.

However, Freeport did not specify how much the TNI and the
police received individually.

TNI earlier acknowledged that it had obtained protection money
from Freeport. TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said
that some 20 percent of the funds from Freeport was distributed
to soldiers as allowances, while the rest was to build
infrastructure around the mining site, which occupies 2,800
square kilometers.