Papuan leaders demand Freeport top official to resign

By Bambang Atmaja

Papuan leaders including Deputy Governor Celemen Tinal, Deputy Chairman of Regional Representatives Council La Ode-Ida, and other senior representatives in the council demanded President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia, Rozik B. Soetjipto to resign to allow a fair process of negotiation with workers.

The call was made during a meeting at the parliament building on Tuesday. They argued that Rozik is a former secretary general of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR). As the ministry represents the government in the negotiations with the workers, they perceived Rozik may not act neutral in the talks.

Freeport, which operates a massive gold and copper mine in Grasberg, Papua, has faced disruptions in recent months amid workers strike demanding for better wage.

"We asked the (president) director of Freeport to be replaced, because it is going to bring a conflict of interest in the renegotiation," said Deputy Governor Clemen. "The representative of the government in the renegotiation is ESDM, while he (Rozik) is a former secretary of a director general in ESDM, so there?s going to be a conflict of interest," said Clemen.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak