Related: U.S. gold company in Jakarta attacked     

     JAKARTA, Feb. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- The Indonesian police on Thursday arrested 13 students from Papua province only hours after they stormed the office of U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. here.

    National Police Chief Sutanto said at least 20 students involved in the pre-dawn attack but officers decided to release several suspects after questioning.

    The students vandalized Freeport office in the busy business center of Kuningan here in protest to the arrest of illegal miners in Papua during clashes with security officers earlier on Tuesday.

    The Tuesday's clash occurred after Freeport employees told the illegal miners to leave the mine.

    One of the arrested student said the attack in Jakarta was to show solidarity to the local miners.

    On Wednesday, hundreds of illegal miners blocked the ways heading to the Freeport mine in Papua, prompting the company to suspend operations.

    "What we are doing now is to prevent unlawful acts and return the situation to normal. We want the mine to resume operations," said Sutanto. Enditem