A New Zealander has been killed at an attack at a PT Freeport Indonesia gold mine. Photo / Supplied
A New Zealander has been killed at an attack at a PT Freeport Indonesia gold mine. Photo / Supplied
A leader of a separatist organisation which claimed responsibility for an attack near a gold mine in Indonesia that claimed the life of a New Zealand miner has himself been killed.
Indonesian troops fatally shot Hengky Wanmang, a leader within the Free Papua Organisation, in ongoing clashes between security forces and a rebel group near the gold mine in easternmost Papua region, police and rebels said.
Wanmang was shot as he tried to escape Sunday (local time) from an early morning raid by military and police on a house believed to be a separatist headquarters in the mountain village of Kalikopi, Papua police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal said.
Kamal said at least three other rebels were injured in a battle with security forces but managed to escape into the jungle near the mining town of Tembagapura with several other Papuan fighters armed with military-grade weapons as well as axes and arrows, AP reports.
Kamal said security forces seized an assault rifle, two guns, seven air rifles, 19 cellphones, two telescopes and 22.4 million rupiah ($1500) in cash during the clash, which caused about 2000 villagers to flee for safety.
Papua Police Chief Paulus Waterpauw described Wanmang as a central figure in the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organisation.
He said Wanmang was responsible for recent attacks near the giant Grasberg gold and copper mine, operated by PT Freeport Indonesia, that began on February 29 and left two security personnel and four rebels dead.
A New Zealander has been killed at an attack at a PT Freeport Indonesia gold mine. Photo / Supplied
On March 30, eight gunmen fatally shot a New Zealander when he and six employees of PT Freeport Indonesia were in a parking lot at the company's office.
"Hengky Wanmang was responsible for the shootings," Waterpau said in a statement.
He said Wanmang also led ambushes on the road to the mine in July 2009 that killed eight people, including Australian miner Drew Nicholas Grant, and wounded 37 others.
The Kiwi who was killed has been identified by local police sources as Graeme Thomas Wall, a 57-year-old originally from Ngaruawahia, Waikato.
Local police chief Gusti Gde Era Adhinata told the Associated Press (AP) news agency that Wall was shot in the chest and died while being taken to a hospital.
Two other shot Indonesian miners were in a critical condition, while four more suffered minor injuries, AP reports.
It's understood that Wall, who went to Ngaruawahia High School, lived in Tembagapura, in Papua, and has family living in Australia.
Wall's family were devastated by the sudden loss.
"I'm struggling to comprehend losing you," one of his brothers, Ross, wrote on Facebook.
"There are no words to describe what a great person, great friend and brother you were and always will be."
Others have paid tribute to a "gentle soul" and "great guy" killed in a "senseless act".
The Ambassador of Indonesia to New Zealand, Tantowi Yahya, said the attack could not be justified in any way.
Yahya passed on his "deepest condolences" to the family of the victims and said the consulate is there to help if needed.
Sebby Sambom, a spokesman for the liberation army, confirmed Wanmang's death.
"It is with great regret we inform publicly that one of our leaders, Hengky Wanmang, was killed by Indonesian troops," Sambom said in a statement.
"A bunch of terrorists have shot our fighters for the sake of defending American interests in Papua."
Rebels in Papua have been fighting a low-level insurgency since the early 1960s, when Indonesia annexed the region, a former Dutch colony. Papua was formally incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a UN-sponsored ballot that was seen as a sham by many.
The mine, which is nearly half-owned by US-based Freeport-McMoRan and is run by PT Freeport Indonesia, is seen by separatists as a symbol of Indonesian rule and has been a frequent target for rebels.
The Grasberg mine's vast gold and copper reserves have been exploited for decades by Freeport-McMoRan, damaging the surrounding environment while providing significant tax income for the Indonesian government.
But indigenous Papuans have benefited little and are poorer, sicker and more likely to die young than people elsewhere in Indonesia.
