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3 policemen killed, 19 seriously injured in clash over U.S. mine+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)JAKARTA, March 16_(Kyodo) _ At least three policemen were killed and 19 others seriously injured in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua during a clash Thursday with native people and university students, who have been demanding closure of a gold mine run by a U.S. company. National Police Spokesman Anton Bachrul Alam told reporters protesters threw stones at the policemen and slashed them with machetes in front of the Cendrawasih University in Jayapura, the provincial capital. Two of the three slain policemen were members of the Mobile Brigade elite police unit. "The three were earlier taken hostage inside the university's compound by the mob," Alam said, adding that the injured policemen are currently in critical condition, mostly with head injuries. According to the senior police officer, police found evidence that the protest was well prepared. A car was found on the scene with many homemade bombs, machetes and arrows inside, he said. Asked about possible involvement of the separatist Free Papua Movement in the incident, Alam briefly replied, "As the incident took place at the Cendrawasih University, it is surely connected to university students." Protests demanding for the closure of PT Freeport Indonesia, a local unit of New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc., have been going on in the past few days in the province, demanding closure of the mining operation and withdrawal of soldiers deployed to secure it. The Freeport mine, the world's largest gold mine and third largest for copper production, has long had an uneasy relationship with locals, many of whom are poor. Over the past three decades, Papua has frequently been the scene of violence between separatists and government security forces that has claimed thousands of lives. Rebels of the Free Papua Movement, who are fighting for an independent state, have kidnapped many locals and foreign nationals in an effort to gain international attention and support. Indonesia took over the western half of New Guinea Island from the Dutch in 1963 and incorporated the territory into Indonesia after a 1969 plebiscite. Papua is home to some of the world's largest gold and copper mines and also has extensive forest reserves. Jakarta has attempted to dampen separatist sentiment by offering Papua's people a greater say in provincial-level government. It has also offered provincial authorities a larger share of local forestry, fishery, oil, gas and mining revenue. |