中国資本のニッケル製錬所で暴動、２人死亡 インドネシア

【ジャカルタＡＦＰ＝時事】インドネシア当局は１６日、スラウェシ島の中国資本のニッケル製錬所で、労働条件をめぐる抗議活動が暴動に発展し、中国人とインドネシア人の従業員計２人が死亡したと発表した。（写真は製錬所での暴動を受け、配備された警察官。モロワリ警察提供）
　暴動は、中国の江蘇徳龍ニッケル業傘下のガンバスター・ニッケル・インダストリー（ＧＮＩ）の製錬所で１４日午後、始まった。中スラウェシ州警察は死因を明らかにしていない。
　インドネシア人従業員らは、労働条件や賃金の改善を求め１日ストライキを行っていた。従業員らが敷地内に入ろうとして警備員と衝突。重機や車両に放火したという。警察によると、少なくとも７１人が拘束された。
　中国外務省の汪文斌報道官は１６日の定例記者会見で、自国民が殺害された事件が「法に従って適切に処理される」よう、インドネシア政府と協力すると述べた。
　ジャカルタの中国大使館にコメントを求めたが、回答は得られなかった。
　暴動が発生したＧＮＩのニッケル製錬所は２０２１年、ジョコ・ウィドド大統領の肝いりで開設され、年間生産量は１８０万トンに上る。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/01/18-13:44）

Two workers including a Chinese national were killed at a nickel smelting plant in Indonesia at the weekend after a riot broke out during a protest over labour conditions, officials said Monday.
The clashes began Saturday evening at the facility on Indonesia's Sulawesi island operated by PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI), a local unit of China's Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry.
The island is a hub for the mineral-rich country's production of the metal, which is used for electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel.
A 30-year-old Chinese worker and an Indonesian worker were killed, Central Sulawesi police spokesman Didik Supranoto told AFP, without giving a cause of death.
Beijing is working with the Indonesian government to ensure the incident will be properly handled in accordance with the law after the death of its citizen, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a briefing Monday.
The Chinese embassy in Jakarta did not respond to a request for comment.
Local employees angry at working conditions and pay held a one-day strike that resulted in clashes with security officers when they tried to enter the premises and set fire to heavy machinery and vehicles, Supranoto said.
There was a stir because they forced their way into PT GNI's area. Security tried to drive them away but they managed to get in, the police official said.
They carried out anarchist actions -- arson and damage. From there, clashes occurred between workers who went on strike with workers inside.
At least 71 people were arrested, of whom 17 were suspected of causing damage, Supranoto later said in a statement.
We express our deep condolences about the demonstration that ended in chaos... because it did not only impact the company but also the surrounding community, GNI said in a statement.
It said the company and police were investigating the protest and deaths.
Operations at the plant -- which was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo in 2021 and has an annual production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes -- have been stopped, Supranoto said.
Indonesia wants to become a global production hub for electric batteries, and Sulawesi island's nickel reserves, crucial to that strategy, have drawn interest from Beijing and some of the world's biggest carmakers.
US-based electric vehicle maker Tesla has reportedly expressed interest in potential EV battery investments in Indonesia.