INDONESIA

The world's
largest gold mine, operated
by a us-based company in
Timika, a mining town of
Irian Jaya in the easternmost island of Indonesia, has
been closed following largescale riots which broke out
on March 15. The company,
Freeport McMoran, confirmed the precautionary
shutdown of operations. The
company has been the target
of protesters' ire in recent
months for widespread damage to local sago forests,
allegedly caused by thousands of tonnes of mining
waste dumped in the local
rivers every day. Tribals
armed with stones and
arrows attacked the mining
company's facilities causing
extensive damage. More
than 500 soldiers from Irian
Jaya were sent in -to control
the situation. Activists in
Irian Jaya, representing the
protesters, said, "We are
fighting against Freeport and
the government ... because
our rights are not recognised, our resources are
extracted and destroyed
while our lives are taken."