John Pakage & Antara – At least 600 soldiers have arrived in Timika, Papua, to tighten security around PT Freeport Indonesia's mining site after a series of deadly attacks on the company's employees, a police officer said on Tuesday.
"The troops will help Timika Police maintain the outer ring of security," Papua Police spokesman Chief Comr. Agus Rianto said on Tuesday.
The additional troops, according to Agus, are from the Cendrawasih Military Command and will assist a local task force of 1,320 police personnel already stationed in the Freeport area.
A series of deadly attacks by armed groups at the site of the world's largest copper and gold mine over the last few months have killed at least two people, prompting employees to wear flak jackets and helmets. Police have also arrested more than a dozen suspects.
While the security conditions around Freeport have been relatively calm over the past few weeks, Agus said security personnel would remain alert to anticipate recurrences of acts of terror by gunmen yet to be identified.
"With the additional military assistance, we will continue to increase security measures and make every effort to solve the previous terror cases," Agus said, adding that transportation from Timika to Tembagapura, home to Freeport employees, was limited, with security extremely tight.
The increased security, however, has raised alarm among local religious leaders, who are concerned the presence of more security personnel will only increase attacks on the mining company.
"The extra troops only invite further attacks on PT Freeport," Saul Wanimbo of the Papua Diocese's Justice and Peace Secretariat said in Merauke on Tuesday.
He also suggested the attacks may have been engineered, pointing to the absence of counterattacks by security personnel during the ambushes.
"I don't know if there were security personnel involved during the attacks, but [the absence of counterattacks has led us to think that] security personnel were warned to stay away from the attacks," he said.
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie was scheduled to arrive in Timika on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the security situation.