River Ajkwa polluted

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: Residents along the Ajkwa River, which flows from the outskirt of Tembagapura city to Timika, the capital of East Mimika regency, have been warned against drinking the polluted water, Antara reported.

Yusuf Tappang from the provincial administration's environmental promotion bureau said Thursday that studies showed the river was contaminated by PT Freeport Indonesia's mining waste.

"The water is no longer potable," Tappang said in a seminar.

The mining waste, known as tailings, also affected thousands of hectares of forest along the river, Tappang said.

Freeport has repeatedly denied pollution charges. Last year, it hired an international environmental audit agency to back up its claim of clean mining operations. (swe)