Papuan Students Ask Government to Close Freeport
Thursday, 06 April, 2006 | 18:09 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: About five hundred Papuan students in Java and Bali demonstrated in front of the State Palace yesterday afternoon (5/4).

The demonstration’s public relation coordinator, Zeli Harizone, said this time the action was proof that problems in Papua were basically rooted in matter concerning Freeport.

“We want to return the problem to the real problem, Freeport,” he said.

The demonstrators demand five things from the government; the total closure of PT Freeport Indonesia, thorough investigation into the human rights violations in the Timika and Abepura cases;a national and international dialog to resolve Papuan problems; the unconditional release of all West Papua United People’s Struggle Front (Front Pepera) activists; and all Indonesian Military (TNI) and Indonesian Police (Polri) non-organic troops to be withdrawn from Papua.

According to Arkilaus Baho, Front Pepera spokesperson, currently 300 activists in Papua have had to flee into the jungle.

“They had to flee because at the time of Abepura riot, it was presumed that Front Papua was responsible,” said Arkilaus

Titis Setianingtyas