THE main road from Tembagapura to PT Freeport Indonesia’s mining center in Timika, Papua, is now like a dead-end. Until Friday of last week, the sound of the bullets from a sniper still caused quite a stir.

The incident started one Saturday dawn three weeks ago. Lukan John Biggs, a Freeport employee from Australia, with his wife Lia Madandan, rode their vehicle from the employee housing at Mile 68 Tembagapura, headed for Rimba Papua Golf Cours