Jakarta – The Mimika District Legislative Council (DPRD) in Papua Province has condemned the shooting incidents which occurred in an area controlled by US mining company PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) on Sunday (July 11) and Monday (July 12).
"We regret the shooting incidents. We condemn the actions of the culprits, whatever their reasons are because what they did cannot be justified from whatever point of view, especially because the victims were innocent," Mimika DPRD Chairman Yoseph Yopi Kilangin told ANTARA on the phone from Timika, Tuesday.
According to Yopi Kilangin, no one had so far claimed responsibility for the violence.
Yopi Kilangin quoted Timika police reports saying that the shooting incidents near Mile 50-53 on the road between Timika and Tembagapura killed three persons and injured five others who are currently still being treated at Kuala Kencana Clinic, Timika. One of the injured persons was in critical condition, according to him.
The killed persons were Drew Nicholas Grant, an Australian who worked for PT Freeport and was shot at Mile 52, early Saturday (July 11); Markus Rante Allo, a security guard of PTFI who was shot at Mile 51 on Sunday (July 12); and Second Brigadier Marson Patipelohi, a police officer of the Papua provincial police and a member of the Amole VII task force.
The body of Marson was found at around 50-meter deep ravine at Mile 64, Monday (July 13).
Yopi Kilangin suspected that the criminals targeted PTFI in their shooting incidents. It could be related to the policy of PTFI's security system in the mining area which was very tight.
"The PTFI security system is very tight, it cannot be accessed by anyone from the public. And this issue has never been discussed openly by all parties," said Yopi Kilangin, an indigenous member of the Amungme tribe which has made ownership claims to the PTFI area at Grassberg, Tembagapura.
He hoped that in the future PTFI and the Mimika district administration as well as local indigenous people could discuss the company's security system so that it would not hamper local people's activities.
The banning of traditional mining activities along Kali Kabur (Ajkwa) river last February-March, had angered traditional miners whose camps were burned by security guards. "We ask the people to stay calm. Leave this case to the police to find out who did the shootings," Yopi said.