Irianese threatens to hit Freeport's researchers

The native Komoro tribes people living around the copper and gold mine of PT Freeport Indonesia have been threatening the researchers hired by the company with violence over the fact that the company had not yet announced the results of the research conducted by the company a year ago, Tifa Papua reported.

Leo Aryesam, one of the researchers, said the local people have often threatened to hit Freeport's researchers, accusing them of "selling their sufferings for money".

"Where is the result of the research you made last year. You, people, only wanted to sell the suffering of the Komoro people to get a fund," Leo quoted by the angry Irianese as saying.

According to head of Freeport's environmental department Wisnu Susetyo, Freeport conducted a research on 160 Irianese in 10 villages around its gold mine last year, during which the researches examined the urine, blood and hairs of the people.

Wisnu said the results of the research were sent to the Agricultural Institute of Bogor in West Java for final examination but the university had yet to finish the examination.

The paper did not reveal the purpose of the research. (*)