Unidentified gunmen kill policeman in Indonesia's Papua

Unidentified gunmen kill policeman in Indonesia's Papua

2012-02-08 03:59:30 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA (BNO NEWS) -- An Indonesian police officer was killed on Tuesday when officers were attacked by an armed group in Indonesia's restive province of Papua, officials said. One attacker was also wounded.

The attack happened in the area of U.S. mining company Freeport-McMoRan when a group of police officers were on a routine patrol. The officers came under fire when the team was crossing the east embankment of Freeport's area, the Jakarta Post reported.

Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. B. L Tobing identified the victim as Ronald Sopamena. He said the gunmen are linked to a separatist group and that officers have been deployed to hunt down the armed group. Reports said one attacker was injured when police returned fire.

Road access between Timika and Tembagapura was cordoned off on Tuesday to allow police officers to conduct an investigation at the scene. Two workers of PT Freeport were shot dead on the same route on January 9.

In recent months, violence has affected Papua, where the Freeport 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, the country's highest mountain.

But violence has plagued Papua since 1969 when Indonesia took over control of the region from the Dutch, ignoring Papuan demands for political sovereignty. Jakarta granted the region special autonomy in 2001, but this failed to quell widespread separatist sentiments.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-02-08