ABC AUSTRALIA, 12/09/2002 21:41:02
Freeport protest follows Papua ambush
A small group of demonstrators has gathered outside the Jakarta headquarters of
mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia to protest what they say are the company's close
ties with the Indonesian military.
The protest follows a fatal August 31 ambush on a mountain road leading to Freeport's
giant copper and gold mine in Papua province.
The ambush by unknown gunmen killed two Americans and one Indonesian and
injured 12 other people.
The army has blamed followers of Kelly Kwalik, a local leader of the disorganised and
poorly armed Free Papua Movement separatists for the attack.
Kwalik in turn has accused the army of using native Papuans to wage a mock war
against government troops to justify crackdowns on separatists who have been
fighting for a free state since the 1960s.
Papuan lobby groups have also rejected accusations that separatists mounted the
attack and suggested military elements might be behind it.
12/09/2002 21:41:02 | ABC Radio Australia News
© 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
