Riots continue in Irian copper town
Riots continue in Irian copper town
JAKARTA (JP): The copper town of Timika in Irian Jaya was beset by further riots yesterday with damage inflicted on the town's airport and facilities owned by PT Freeport Indonesia, the giant American mining company.
Unconfirmed reports said two boys died after they fell off a Freeport truck which they were riding on. The truck was one of several vehicles that had been commandeered by rioters.
However the military quickly denied any fatalities in yesterday's riots.
Military sources in Jayapura quoted by Antara said three Freeport employees were badly injured and 12 others sustained light injuries. The news agency also said seven people had been arrested by the police in connection with the riot.
Harimau Sutney, a Timika resident active in defending the rights of Irian Jaya tribes in the area, told The Jakarta Post by phone that he saw thousands of people running amok yesterday, attacking Freeport office buildings and houses belonging to its employees.
A number of Freeport vehicles were commandeered by the rioters, and the Timika police precinct and the local airport were also damaged in the riot, he said.
He said he saw the protesters clashing with soldiers who tried to disperse them. Some of the soldiers were seen firing warning shots, he added.
The riot which had been confined to Tembagapura, the site of Freeport's mining facility, since Sunday, yesterday spread to the main town of Timika.
The riot originated in rumors that a local resident had been killed after he was hit by a Freeport car in a road accident on Saturday. The rumor turned out to be false -- the resident was treated in a hospital and discharged the same day -- but it quickly gained currency among local Irian people, many of whom harbor resentment against Freeport.
The company shut down its operation on Monday and gave its workers the day off, hoping that they could return to work on Tuesday. Freeport officials were not available for comment yesterday to confirm reports that the workers had not returned.
The military in Jakarta yesterday played down the incident, saying that the military commander in Irian Jaya was handling the situation.
Armed Forces' Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. Soeyono said the riot was fanned by malicious rumors. "It was clearly an accident. The man who was hit by the car has returned to his home," Soeyono said.
He also confirmed that Timika airport was closed yesterday and would only be opened when the situation returned to normal.
Soeyono said the Trikora Military Command Chief Maj. Gen. A, Dunidja has full authority in deciding what course to take in handling the riots.
A Reuters report said that some troopers from the Army's special forces, led by its chief Brig. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, are already in Timika.
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation in Jakarta in a statement appealed to the government to refrain from using force against the rioters.
Director of Operations Bambang Widjojanto said the riots showed the deep mistrust the local people have for Freeport, a long-standing problem the government has yet to resolve.
The presence of Freeport in the area has been detrimental to the interests of the local Amungme, Dani and Komoro tribes, Bambang said. (imn/rms)