JAKARTA, March 2 (Xinhuanet  by Heru Andriyanto ) -- Students have staged rallies in many parts of Indonesia over the last several days demanding the closure of U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoran, which they accused of stealing wealth and destroying environment.

    In the southern Java town of Yogyakarta on Thursday, students took to the streets urging the government to close Freeport's minein the country's most remote province of Papua.

    The students, mostly Papuan origin, distributed statements accusing Freeport of "doing none to increase the standard of living of the Papuans" and "damaging the ecosystem" during the company's 39-year operations.

    The rally followed days of protests against Freeport in Jakarta, Papua, Central Java and South Sulawesi. In several events, the rallies turned into violence.

    In Jakarta last week, Papuan students broke down the gate of a building where Freeport office resides before they smashed glass windows and burned furniture. In the televised pre-dawn attack, the students even challenged a policeman who tried to stop them.

    The widespread protests occurred after a clash between illegal miners, who earned income by prospecting through the waste tailings at Freeport's mine, and Freeport employees backed by security officers in Papua last Tuesday.

    Six miners were injured in the clash.

    Angry local miners later blocked the way leading to the mine, forcing Freeport to stop operations for three days last week.

    Adrianto Machribie, head of Indonesian subsidiary PT Freeport Indonesia, told Jakarta-based Metro TV the suspension could inflict losses of up to 12 million U.S. dollars per day.

    Freeport's Grasberg mine in Papua is believed to contain among the biggest gold and copper deposits in the world.

    Despite the nationwide protests and recent reports on Freeport's controversial practice of paying Indonesian military and police officers to safeguard its mine, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Tuesday the government would honor the contract wit Freeport.

    "We review the contract every five years but I don't think we should revoke the contract early.

    "Freeport is very important to native Papuans and it's not likely to close down its mine which gives jobs and tax revenues," he said.

    Freeport is the second U.S. mining firm under fire in Indonesia over pollution allegations.

    The government has filed a civil case against gold miner Newmont Mining Corp. for alleged water pollution near the company's mine on Sulawesi island, demanding 133 million dollars in compensation.

    Newmont last month agreed to pay the government 30 million dollars to settle the dispute but the government warned that the payment would not end the criminal charges. Enditem