Freeport's mine at Grasberg in West Papua ... target of a fresh attack. Photo: PMC

Pacific Scoop:
By Nethy Dharma Somba and Markus Makur  in Jayapura and Timika

The latest attack against mining company PT Freeport Indonesia in Papua – weeks after the shooting death of independence leader Kelly Kwalik – has left Indonesian authorities without the usual suspects to pin the blame on, say local Papuan critics.

On Sunday, a group of unidentified gunmen opened fire on a convoy of vehicles carrying company employees and security officers, injuring nine people, including a foreign employee and four Mobile Brigade police officers.

The latest incident disrupted a brief period of relative calm, following a series of attacks on the firm’s employees, which began in July last year and killed three people, including an Australian worker and a police officer.

None of the gunmen have been arrested.

“[Sunday’s] shooting incident, which happened after Kelly Kwalik was killed, has made the attacks a mystery,” Papua Presidium Council secretary-general Taha Al Hamid told The Jakarta Post in Jayapura on Monday.

“[The public is now wondering] who the real perpetrators are, since clearly Kelly has nothing to do with this latest ambush.”

‘Unmask gunmen’
Taha called on the Cendrawasih military commander and the Papua police chief to “unmask the real gunmen” and end the speculation.

“What we don’t need is a new scapegoat to take the fall for the Freeport shootings,” he said.

“Kelly was the scapegoat before, and the attacks have continued, so let’s not be quick to point the
finger.”

Taha also urged the police and the government to set up an independent investigation team for
the case.

“Let’s bring the case to light, since it’s important to maintain foreign investors’ trust in Indonesia,”
Taha said.

Papua Tribal Council chief Forkorus Yoboisembut also called on the authorities to refrain from blaming any particular group for the latest shooting, urging instead a withdrawal of all armed security personnel from the area.

“Once they’re gone, let’s see if there are any more shooting incidents,” he said.

“That way we can find the real perpetrators. If they turn out to be Papuans, then we need to find out where they got the weapons.”

Kwalik blame
Papua police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto claimed the authorities had never actually blamed Kelly Kwalik for the shooting incidents along the road to Freeport’s giant Grasberg mine between July and September last year.

Kwalik was shot dead by police after reportedly resisting arrest.

He was wanted for his role in a kidnapping in Mapunduma in 1996 and a 2002 attack on Freeport employees’ bus.

Agus said the police still had no leads on the attackers in the latest case, but would continue investigating.

“These armed criminals know the terrain and can survive in the jungle, and have thus evaded capture,” he said.

He added the scene of Sunday’s shooting had yielded up several casings believed to have come from rifle rounds.

“At this point we can’t say whether these bullets were the ones fired at the bus.”

“We’re still looking into it.”

Military deployed
Following the incident, an extra 1500 police and military personnel have been deployed around the Grasberg mine.

Hundreds of Freeport employees, forced to stay in Timika on Sunday, were back at work Monday.

Freeport spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan told the Post previously that workers would continue to be bused to the mine once the authorities had declared the conditions safe enough.

“The safety and security of our workers and their families are our priorities.”

Source: Jakarta Post

OPM not involved in the Freeport shooting