Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has urged the Indonesian government to launch an investigation into the fatal shooting of gold and copper mine workers in a demonstration against Freeport-Mcmoran in the eastern province of Papua on Monday.
According to Amnesty International, one protester, Petrus Ayemseba, was killed and at least six of them were seriously injured when security officers opened fire at the protesters. At least 8,000 mine workers have been on strike since September to demand better pay.
"This latest incident shows that Indonesian police have not learned how to deal with protesters without resorting to excessive, and even lethal, force,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s director for the Asia Pacific region.
“The police have a duty to protect themselves and uphold the law, but it is completely unacceptable to fire live ammunition at these protesters,” he added in a press statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
He further urged the government to investigate the shooting and make the results public.
“It is high time that the Indonesian police trained and equipped their staff in non-violent methods of crowd control. They also need to ensure that they have non-lethal means of force at their disposal to disperse protesters if necessary,” he added.