Markus Makur, Timika - Police have named seven suspects, including an employee of mining company PT Freeport Indonesia, for their involvement in a series of shootings in the vicinity of the company's mining concession in Timika, Papua, which killed three people.
Papua Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Nurhabri confirmed Sunday that one of the suspects was an employee of the company. "But I can not reveal the person's name as the investigation is ongoing," Nurhabri told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
He said the worker is currently being detained at Mimika police headquarters along with the other six suspects.
He said the suspects were arrested at Mile 27 of the road between the mining site and Kampung Kwamki Baru, Mimika, last week. He denied reports that another Freeport employee was among the suspects.
"After investigating the case and questioning the people arrested last week we decided to name seven suspects, one of them is a Freeport employee," Nurhabri said, not mentioning the department in which the employee worked.
Detik.com reported Sunday that two of the seven suspects were Freeport employees. "We have investigated 32 people and seven of them were named suspects," National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana told reporters Sunday.
According to the detik.com report, the police named two Freeport employees, Amon Yawame, 30, and Dominikus Beanal, 25, as suspects. The remaining five suspects were identified as Eltinus Beanal, Tommy Beanal, Simon Beanal, Yani Beanal,and Endel Kiwak. Police also seized hundreds of rounds of ammunition as part of their investigation. Yoga said 26 other people who were earlier questioned had been released.
Meanwhile, 1,200 Freeport employees were finally able to return home to Gorong-gorong, Koperapoka, Mimika Baru, Mimika when the road to the mine reopened on Sunday. Filling 21 buses, the employees travelled from the mine in Tembagapura to Mimika under tight security. Many employees could not return home and were forced to stay in Tembagapura for weeks after the shootings.
Australian Drew Nicholas Grant, a 29-year-old Freeport employee, an Indonesian security guard and a policeman died in the attacks.
Spokesman for PT Freeport Indonesia, Mindo Pangaribuan, said production at the mine had returned to relative normality after the latest ambushes. "We are focusing on keeping operational and production activities stable while security forces are in charge of the security at the mining site," Pangaribuan told the Post on Saturday.