Banjir Ambarita, Farouk Arnaz & Ronna Nirmala, Jayapura – In an escalation of the long-running Freeport mine labor dispute, one man was shot dead on Monday and several more injured after a march of striking workers descended into a clash with police officers.

One worker died from a gunshot while a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officer was seriously injured after he was mobbed by protestors, workers and police said.

The workers, on strike to demand better working conditions at Freeport McMoRan's Grasberg gold and copper mine in Papua, were marching toward the mine in Tembagapura when Freeport forces, assisted by the police, tried to block their advance, according to a member of the All-Indonesian Workers Trade Union (SPSI) who declined to be identified.

"One of our colleagues, a Freeport worker, was shot dead while three others were wounded and are being treated at Timika hospital," the man said. The source added that the shooting took place at Freeport's Gorong-gorong bus terminal in Timika, where thousands had gathered.

"They wanted to go there to close down Freeport, because up until now, the management has refused to talk," the source said. He said Petir Ayami Seba had died about half an hour after he was admitted to the hospital, suffering from a gunshot wound in the chest.

Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wachyono said one member of the police's Brimob paramilitary unit, First Bridgadier Jamil, died in hospital after being mobbed by the striking workers. He later corrected his statement, saying that the policeman was only seriously injured.

"His firearm was taken and has not yet been found," Wachyono said. He claimed that police had first fired warning shots. The workers also wounded seven policemen with stones and burned three company vehicles.

SPSI spokesman Juli Parongrongan said that the union did not know why shots were fired as the workers had not provoked the police.

The workers also reportedly attacked two journalists, Tato Sanda from the Cahaya Papua daily and Syahrul from the Radar Timika newspaper, and robbed them of their camera, telephone and motorcycle.

"We regret that there was a security disturbance this morning, on Monday, October 10, at the Gorong-gorong terminal in Timika where the company provides buses for workers' transport," Freeport Indonesia spokesman Ramdani Sirait said.

Ramdani said the mine's management had already accepted mediation by the district and provincial manpower office and had agreed to raise salaries by 25 percent from the previous 22 percent, but the union had refused the offer.