In another shooting at the PT Freeport Indonesia (PT FI) gold and copper mining area, a driver, Feri William, died after being shot in the head by unidentified gunmen at Mile 51 at around 1 p.m. on Friday.
Feri was driving three police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers from Mile 68 to Mile 32 Lowland. As they arrived at Mile 51, the car was shot at from the left hand side of the road and Feri sustained a bullet wound to the head. The three Brimob members were also injured by splintered glass.
“The victim died at around 4 p.m. at the Kuala Kencana clinic,” Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wach-yono told The Jakarta Post.
In a text message sent to the Post, PT FI spokesman Ramdani Sirait confirmed he had received reports of the shooting in which an employee was killed. “We at PT FI express our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family,” he wrote.
Previously, on Nov. 16, two PT FI employees, Medi Pungus and Makkasau, were slightly injured when the car they were traveling in was shot at by unidentified gunmen at Mile 51.
The series of shootings has caused grave concern among PT FI employees at work and raised tensions. “We are tired of being haunted by these shootings,” said Lita, a PT FI employee, when reached by the Post.
According to Lita, who has worked at PT FI for 15 years, no amount of money could compensate for the lack of safety.
“We have families and children. We need a sense of safety while working. A high salary means nothing without a sense of safety,” she said.
She hoped that the Indonesian government could provide better security for workers. “From the bottom of my heart, I appeal to the President to listen to our cries. We are also humans who need a sense of safety. We are not sitting targets. I appeal to the President, let this be the last shooting,” she said.
According to Lita, the shootings, which have been taking place since 2003, have caused particular anxiety ever since two employees, Harry Siregar and Max Mansawan, were shot and killed and later set on fire by unidentified gunmen on April 7, 2011.
“Ever since then, the shootings have intensified but why can’t they be stopped right now?” she asked.
Separately, in Jayapura, an interactive dialogue, organized by the 1701 Jayapura Military Command at the Hotel Relat Jayapura on Friday, participants raised doubts about the 50-year integration of Papua into Indonesia.
Prosperity was far below expectations and the special autonomy that had been granted had not changed the lives of native Papuans, especially those at the grass-roots level, it was claimed.
“My parents are still naked in the village; where are the special autonomy funds?” asked Pegunungan Tengah tribal chief Bion Tabuni.
According to Tabuni, what the government has done, especially during the Papuan special autonomy era, has not been of immediate benefit to the lives of the common people, who still wonder whether they can eat three times a day, benefit from electricity or have a decent home.
The people’s wishes, said Tabuni, were simple. They wanted to have enough food to eat, free education, healthcare and a sense of security.
“Previously, during campaigns, leadership candidates promised many things, but after they got elected they forgot everything. Don’t they ever feel guilty about lying to the people?” he asked.