Timika situation calm but crisis remains

JAKARTA (JP): The situation in Timika, a town near the Freeport copper and gold mine in Irian Jaya, was calm yesterday after a tribal clash Thursday which claimed three lives.

The incident, sparked by a drunkard who harassed a village head, involved Amungme, Nguda and Dhani tribes.

The Institute of Amungme Society was until last night still trying to reach a settlement between the involved parties.

An institute activist institute told The Jakarta Post last night casualty numbers remained the same. Institute head Tom Beanal was still conducting on-the-spot peace negotiations involving both tribes.

Priest Nato from Timika Parochy, a witness to the incident who took part in the negotiations, said local civilian and military authorities had practiced a "hands-off policy".

"It's very sad to see all this; the incident has caused death but the authorities had done nothing to stop it," the priest said sourly.

Brig. Gen. Slamet Supriadi, head of the Armed Forces Information Center, told the Post last night he had no knowledge of the incident: "I have not even heard of it. Give me time to find out what has happened there."

Walhi, a non-governmental environment organization, said yesterday that such clashes had been predicted for some time.

"We had reported our prediction to the National Commission on Human Rights, but nothing had been done," Chalid Mohammad, a Walhi official said.

Both Walhi and the Amungme Institute said the incident was rooted in the unresolved problem involving the tribes and Freeport over a 1 percent trust fund donated by the mining giant.

Freeport has a project to support the development of Timika through government projects, but the fund had been channeled through organizations which the local people refused to acknowledge.

"In fact," Chalid said, "the fund had been given to certain members of the tribes who had the backing of the local administration and the company."

This created the appearance of the administration and Freeport having built counter groups against the tribes and their institution, such as Lemasa, Chalid said.

"In this situation, it's obvious that almost every incident is linked to the fund and the people who get it," Chalid said.

"Until this thing is sorted out, such an incident could happen again anytime," he added. (12)