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Shootings, deaths at Aussie mine
Thursday 24 January 2002
Local people have again been shot by security forces at an Australian gold mine in Indonesia. On Friday BRIMOB shot a local in the head at close range. BRIMOB is Indonesia’s military-style elite police force providing security at Aurora Gold’s Indo Muro Kencana mine site in Kalimantan. The twenty year old victim is seriously ill in hospital. Previous shootings have lead to two deaths and other serious woundings.
Local people report that on Saturday morning, the community staged an angry demonstration in response, blockading Aurora Gold's roads and processing plant. The community has demanded that Aurora take responsibility and cease to have BRIMOB posted at their site.
"The shootings and deaths of local people on an Australian company's mine site must be investigated and must not be allowed to continue." said Mr. Geoff Evans, Director Mineral Policy Institute in Sydney.
"Aurora Gold must remove the police force involved from duty as mine security. This should have been done months ago after the first shootings ended in local deaths.
"Australian companies are clearly responsible for ensuring forces with a record of human rights abuse do not operate as security on their sites."
Aurora Gold is embroiled in conflict with the indigenous Dayak community, including traditional small-scale miners whom Aurora brands “illegal miners”, and wants off the company’s mine lease area. In the past on Aurora's mining concession BRIMOB police have bulldozed and burned to the ground whole villages, harassed people at gunpoint, and arrested and detained without valid charges community members including women and children.
The news of this latest attack follows two others over the past six months. On June 5, 2001 the same security force shot at community small-scale miners. Running for their lives, six people ran into a flooded mine pit. From the edge of the deep pit, the police fired gunshots and threw stones at the men. A 28 year old and an 18 year old were killed, and three others wounded. Two months later on August 27 a boy in his early teens was likewise shot and seriously wounded.
The June incident came just days after the national newspaper, Kompas, reported comments made by the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Richard C. Smith. The Ambassador demanded that the government and security forces in Indonesia take measures to protect Australian business interests in Kalimantan and guarantee a secure climate for Australian investors. Pointedly, Mr. Smith made this provocative request while visiting the Australian-owned Indo Muro Kencana’s mine camp.
For more information, please contact:
Igor O'Neill
Workphone: +62 21 794 1672
Mobile: +62 81 286 12 286
Created: 24 Jan 2002 | Last updated: 24 Jan 2002
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