PAPUA -- NO ONE INJURED AS SMALL BOMBS GO OFF NEAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001746 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/ANP, DRL, DRL/AWH, S/CT NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2018 TAGS: PGOV PINS EMIN PTER ID SUBJECT: PAPUA -- NO ONE INJURED AS SMALL BOMBS GO OFF NEAR MINING OPERATION JAKARTA 00001746 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Three small explosive devices have gone off near a massive copper and gold mine operated by U.S. company Freeport-McMoRan near Timika, Papua, in eastern Indonesia. Police are investigating the explosions, which did not cause any injuries or significant damage. An underground pro-separatist group has claimed responsibility, but that claim has not been verified. END SUMMARY. SMALL EXPLOSIONS IN TIMIKA ¶2. (SBU) There have been several small explosions in Papua Province in eastern Indonesia. Two small explosive devices detonated near Timika, Papua, around 3:00 a.m local time on Friday, September 12. (Note: Ambassador Hume visited Timika September 10-11, but had left the area well before the explosions. Mission will report on the Ambassador's visit via septel.) Both explosions were set along a road leading to the Grasberg mine operated by U.S company Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold. One explosion was set at the base of a bridge on the road that connects the town of Timika with the mine. Another explosive device detonated near a fuel storage facility along the mine road. ¶3. (SBU) A separate explosion detonated near the Timika airport around midnight on Sunday, September 14. This third explosion targeted a small electrical substation along the line that connects Freeport's coastal power-plant to the mining operation. ¶4. (C) None of the explosions caused any injuries or significant damage. Freeport officials who visited the blast sites told poloff that the explosive devices used were small and crudely made. Company security officials believe the explosive charges may have come from old mortar rounds, possibly from WWII. INVESTIGATION ONGOING ¶5. (C) Police are investigating the matter. Papua's deputy police chief BrigGen Prasetyo (one name only) told Ambassador Hume on September 12 that the police were treating the explosions as "terrorist" cases. Members of the elite anti-terror Detachment 88 traveled to Timika to lead the investigation into the blasts. Speaking to reporters, police officials said they were investigating the possible involvement of a little-known Papuan separatist group, the West Papua National Army. A CLAIM OF RESPONSIBILITY ¶6. (C) On September 15, there was a claim of responsibility. Kelly Kwalik, the leader of the underground Free Papua Movement (OPM),issued a statement to the press that claimed his group had taken the action to protest Freeport's activities. Kwalik was quoted as saying that the OPM wanted "Papua independence" to be discussed at the UNGA meetings in New York. Kwalik's claims have not been verified. (Note: Kwalik--who is in hiding--has been involved in previous attacks near Freeport's operations. The outlawed OPM has been around for some time, but the group has been largely quiet in recent years.) ¶7. (C) Freeport's operation is oo stranger to controversy and occasional violenc.* In 2002, OPM members acting on Kwalik's order killed two Americans and one Indonesian in a rod side ambush. Papuan activists and environmental groups have occasionally protested at Freeport facllities due to the mining operation's perceived ng"ative impact on the local community and environeent. JAKARTA 00001746 002.2 OF 002 ¶8. (C) Timika has also been the site of an ongoing labor dispute between Trackindo, a Freeport contractor that is the Indonesia agent for Caterpillar heavy equipment, and its employees. The area around the mine has also been the site of tensions stemming from the activities of illegal miners who pan for gold in the mine's tailings. However, there is no evidence to indicate that the recent explosions are related to these previous incidents. Nor is there any evidence to suggest that the explosions were in any way related to Ambassador Hume's visit. ¶9. (U) Suggested Press Guidance: Mission suggests the Department use the following guidance in responding to inquiries about the incident: Q: What is your reaction to reports of several explosions near the operations of the U.S. mining company Freeport-McMoRan in Timika, Indonesia? Were these acts of terrorism? A: We have received reports that there were three small explosions near Freeport's operation but that these did not cause any injuries or serious damage. We understand that the Indonesian police are investigating the explosions and we look forward to learning the results of the investigation. (If pressed.) The police investigation is ongoing. We do not want to speculate who might have been responsible for the explosions. HUME