Gunmen kill three people at Indonesia's Freeport mine

[News_Editor]

Gunmen kill three people at Indonesia's Freeport mine

2011-10-22 08:55:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

TIMIKA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- A group of unidentified gunmen ambushed PT Freeport's concession area in Papua, Indonesia on Friday morning, killing three people and seriously injuring another, officials said.

PT Freeport Indonesia spokesperson Ramdani Sirait said the attack took place on a road in the low-lying part of the mine's concession area, not too far from where a similar incident happened last Friday, the Antara news agency reported.

One of the fatalities was believed to be a contractor employee of PT Kuala Pelabuhan Indonesia (KPI) while the two others were traditional miners at Freeport. In addition, one miner was seriously injured. Local police did not comment on the reported incident.

Last Friday, three Freeport mine workers were killed in the Mimika district of Papua when unidentified gunmen opened fire against the vehicle the workers were riding. The vehicle was then set on fire, killing all three mine workers at the scene.

Last week's ambush came just days after a demonstration of striking Freeport workers took a violent turn. At least seven people were shot during the protests when thousands of mine workers rallied, demanding a substantial pay raise. A civilian and a police officer were killed.

And in April, two workers were killed when their vehicle was shot and set on fire. The perpetrator or perpetrators were never caught. Since 2009, at least 11 Freeport workers, security personnel and other civilians have been killed in the area. More than 40 people have been injured as well.

Since mid-September, a large number of employees at the mine have been on a strike to demand a salary increase and have since refused a 25 percent increase offered by the company. According to reports, the workers currently earn between $1.5 to $3 an hour.

In July, a 7-day strike led to company losses of over 15,000 tons of copper and 1,700,971 grams (60,000 ounces) of gold. According to the company, each day of strike causes production decreases by about 3 million pounds of copper and 141,747 grams (5,000 ounces) of gold.

The mine has been linked to regional friction as locals argue that only a small fraction of the mine's revenue goes to the workers and regional development. Furthermore, friction has also been linked to the mine's environmental impact as it is located in what used to be a small equatorial mountain glacier on the high point of Puncak Jaya, Indonesia's highest mountain.

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