http://www.theage.com.au/national/melbourne-man-shot-dead-near-papuan-mine-20090711-dgrb.html?page=-1
Melbourne man shot dead near Papuan mine Drew Grant at the birth of his daughter, Ella, nine weeks ago. Photo: AP Tom Allard, Jakarta July 12, 2009 A MELBOURNE man has been shot dead near the giant Freeport mine in Indonesia's Papua province in an apparent sniper attack. Drew Nicholas Grant, 29, was shot in the back of the neck by a gunman hiding in nearby hills as he travelled in the back seat of a car with four others yesterday, said Inspector-General Nanan Sukarna of Indonesian police. He was heading to an early morning round of golf. Mr Grant, from Moorabbin, is survived by his wife Lauren and their nine-week-old daughter, Ella. Initial police reports suggest only one bullet was fired in the dawn attack, but his family told The Sunday Age they were informed that several shots were fired. Mr Grant was rushed to the hospital at Kuala Kencara but died within an hour of the shooting. Three rebels suspects were reportedly detained in the afternoon ater a shootout with soldiers and police in Yapen, 440 kilometres north-west of the scene, but it was unclear whether they were linked with the shooting. Mr Grant was a project manager for the gold and copper mine, which has been beset by unrest for decades. A similar shooting of two US teachers returning to the site from a picnic in 2002 hampered relations with Indonesia, leading to an FBI investigation. None of the other passengers in the car, which included at least two other foreigners, were injured. The five men had been on their way to the Hotel Rimba resort, a luxury hotel and golf course carved out of the jungle near Timika, the main town servicing the mine. "He was shot in the neck and has passed away,'' General Sukarna said. "We suspect the shot came from the top of a nearby hill.'' A spokesman for Freeport's local subsidiary, Mindo Pangaribuan, said: "(Freeport) is co-operating fully with the police investigation and deeply regrets the loss of an employee. Shots were fired at a vehicle, fatally wounding an employee who was a passenger in the vehicle. Other passengers were not injured.'' Mr Grant's father, Leigh Grant, said Freeport officials contacted Drew's wife, Lauren, yesterday morning with the devastating news. He said the family was in shock and trying to come to terms with the tragedy. Lauren and Ella were due to fly to Indonesia next week to be with Drew, Mr Grant said. "He was an extremely hard worker in Papua and he was there to set up a good steady future for Lauren and Ella.'' Mrs Grant said her husband "didn't have a bad bone in his body, and he never said a bad word about anybody. "He was an adoring father, who flew straight back to Melbourne last week to be with his wife and ill baby daughter," she said. Drew, a qualified master builder who graduated from Mentone Grammar, started working in Indonesia three years ago, before marrying Lauren in October 2007. Freeport operates the giant gold and copper concession in Papua that has been a flashpoint for the region's discontented indigenous population, who regard it as a symbol of Jakarta's oppression and resent the environmental damage it has caused in the past. Indonesia has been battling a long-running, if poorly organised, separatist insurgency in Papua for decades. Last week there was an arson attack on a security post and bus on the road leading to Freeport's enormous open-cut mine, known as Grasberg. Papua has seen an escalation in separatist violence this year, mostly hit-and-run attacks. The region is heavily militarised and there have been numerous allegations of military personnel operating as standover men and engaging in illegal activities. For a period, the military guarded the mine and were paid directly by Freeport for the service. That security role ended shortly before two US teachers, and an Indonesian who worked for Freeport, were killed in an ambush in 2002. A lengthy investigation, that included the involvement of the FBI, led to a local man being charged. The man was linked to the Papuan independence movement, the OPM. However, many Papuans and human rights activists believe that the military was involved. Indonesia's security forces have received large payments from Freeport in return for upgrading security around the mine. Following yesterday's shooting, security was raised around the mine and anti-terrorism police were investigating, but mining activities were not disrupted, a company spokesman said. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said consular staff from the Australian embassy in Jakarta "remain in close contact with the man's employer and local police". A departmental spokesman said: "Police have advised they are investigating the man's murder." The mining operation has been a source of friction, with local Papuans angered over the profits to foreign investors while they remain poor. Freeport has extracted billions of dollars in gold from the mine. It is one of the world's largest producers of copper and gold and has been the biggest single contributor to Indonesia's revenue. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
