Matt Peacock reported this story on Tuesday, December 27, 2011 08:03:00

PETER CAVE: The Indonesian Human Rights Commission has launched an inquiry into the fatal police shooting of at least two demonstrators protesting against an Australian mining operation near the port of Sape in Eastern Indonesia.



Anti-mining activists say police fired live ammunition into a crowd blockading the port on Christmas Eve. The blockade had been organised in opposition to a proposed gold mine in the area, which the protestors claim will cause environmental damage to farming land and water supplies.



But the Australian company, Arc Exploration, denies any mining has yet taken place, with its limited operations still at the exploration stage.



Matt Peacock reports.



MATT PEACOCK: Graphic pictures on local Indonesian broadcaster Metro TV showed police firing what appeared to be live ammunition into a crowd of protesters on Christmas Eve, with police confirming later that two people had been killed and 47 people wounded. Reports from anti-mining activists put the death toll is as high as 12.



Today the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights plans to send a team to the port of Sape, in the West Nusa Tenggara province, to establish why the police fired directly into the crowd.



Police say the protesters had blockaded the port for days, and were armed with machetes and Molotov cocktails. They are conducting their own investigation into the shootings.



The Australian company at the centre of the protest, Arc Exploration, is a small Sydney-based operation which denies that any gold mine is yet underway. The company plans to issue a statement to the Sydney Stock Exchange when it reopens after the Christmas break, but it's understood that it's already withdrawn its handful of mainly Indonesian-based geologists from the area until tensions ease.



They have been conducting what's known as trenching, taking samples of soil as part of a prospecting operation, to establish whether or not there is minable gold in the area. But any actual mine would still be many years away.



The Indonesian-based Mining Advocacy Network website claims that the protests were organised because local farmers and fishermen are concerned that a gold mine would disrupt agricultural lands and water resources and it has called for the sacking of the local chief of police.



The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs says it's aware of the reported deaths and police inquiry.



The area has been the site of a series of demonstrations dating back several months, with Arc Explorations stating in its June quarterly report that no exploration work had been possible due to protests.



This latest escalation of violence will do little to instil confidence in any future mining operations in the region.



PETER CAVE: Matt Peacock reporting.