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TIMIKA, Indonesia (AFP)--U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan's
(FCX) Indonesia subsidiary ordered hundreds of workers at a huge
gold and copper mine in Papua province to stay at home Wednesday
after a spate of deadly shootings.
Freeport's Indonesia spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan said workers
who lived near the coastal town of Timika had been ordered not to
come to the Grasberg mine, located in the highlands about 65
kilometers (40 miles) from the town.
The order came after three people including an Australian
technician were killed in ambushes along the road between Timika
and the mine at the weekend, the worst attacks on Freeport workers
in Indonesia since 2002.
"This morning we have asked hundreds of our employees to stay
home," Pangaribuan said.
"They are those who live in the lower part of the area in Timika
and have to use the road on which the attacks occurred to reach the
mining site in Tembagapura."
Some parts of the road were closed and the company - the biggest
single taxpayer to the Indonesian government - wasn't sure when it
would be reopened, he said.
"We'll have to take further input from the police on this,"
Pangaribuan said, adding that in other respects operations at the
mine were continuing.
The Indonesian military, which along with police is paid
"support costs" by Freeport for protecting the mine, has blamed
Papuan separatist guerrillas for the attacks.
But police in Papua have said there is no evidence to suggest
the poorly-trained and armed rebels were behind the sophisticated
ambushes, which involved military and police-issue ammunition.
A commander for the Free Papua Movement, or OPM, guerrillas has
reportedly denied involvement, although the separatists' armed wing
is a disjointed group that acts locally with little central
control.
Australian technician Drew Grant, 29, was killed on Saturday
when his car was fired on between Timika and Tembagapura, while a
Freeport guard was killed in an ambush on the same road Sunday.
A third victim, a policeman, was found dead in a ravine Monday
after fleeing the ambush the day before.
Two American teachers from the Freeport mining town of
Tembagapura and an Indonesian colleague were killed in an ambush on
the same road in 2002.