Army chief denies involvement in Freeport attack<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu denied on Thursday
\nallegations that soldiers stationed in Papua were involved in a
\nshooting last month near the Freeport mine that left two
\nAmericans and one Indonesian dead.<\/p>\n
Ryamizard was responding to allegations by John Rumbiak, a
\nhuman rights investigator with the Papua-based Institute for
\nHuman Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham), that soldiers from the
\nArmy's Special Force (Kopassus) were involved in the deadly
\nambush on employees of the American-owned Freeport copper and
\ngold mine.<\/p>\n
\"We cannot arbitrarily accuse people of committing a crime
\nuntil we obtain solid evidence. The military and police always
\nneed time to complete an investigation into criminal cases
\nallegedly involving their members<\/p>\n
\"Let us just wait for the police to finish their investigation
\ninto the Freeport shooting. Should it be proven that my soldiers
\nwere involved, I will not hesitate to punish them. Many of my
\nsoldiers have been dismissed because of undisciplined behavior,\"
\nRyamizard said on the sidelines of a meeting he held with chief
\neditors at the Army's headquarters.<\/p>\n
Ryamizard further brushed aside allegations that the attack
\nwas triggered by a dispute between soldiers over territorial
\narrangements.<\/p>\n
\"When I was in charge of Kostrad, I told the Freeport
\nexecutives that my soldiers should not be asked to guard the mine
\ncompound. But the company insisted on asking for help,\" Ryamizard
\nsaid. Kostrad is the Army's Strategic Reserves Command, which has
\nnearly 40,000 troops.<\/p>\n
For years, Freeport has asked for military help to protect its
\ncompound because of security concerns raised by the activities of
\nthe separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM).<\/p>\n
The police have yet to charge anyone for the attack on the
\nFreeport employees. The military has blamed the shooting on
\nfollowers of Kelly Kwalik, a local OPM leader.<\/p>\n
Because of this continued uncertainty, Elsham called on the
\nU.S. government to launch its own investigation into the
\nkillings, in cooperation with the Indonesian authorities.<\/p>\n
Separately, Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen.
\nSjafrie Sjamsoeddin said allegations of military involvement in
\nthe attack were not based on any legal evidence, and were aimed
\nat discrediting Kopassus and TNI.<\/p>\n
\"They have not provided proper evidence to support the
\nallegation. It is slander and we (the TNI) are considering a
\nlawsuit,\" Sjafrie told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The military has also denied involvement in the killing of
\nPapuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay last November, as
\nwell as other politically related cases in the province. Nine
\nKopassus members have been arrested in relation to the Theys
\nkilling.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Amnesty International charged on Thursday that the
\nIndonesian police killed, tortured and jailed dozens of people
\nlast year during a crackdown in Papua.<\/p>\n
The London-based rights group said in a report that police
\nwent on a bloody rampage after unidentified gunmen twice attacked
\nlogging companies in the province and killed nine people,
\nincluding five police officers.<\/p>\n
\"Rather than identifying and bringing to justice the
\nindividuals responsible for the attacks on the logging companies,
\nthe operation appears to have turned into a campaign of revenge
\nagainst the immediate community and beyond,\" the rights group
\nsaid in a statement.<\/p>\n
Provincial police chief Brig. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika
\ndismissed Amnesty International's report, saying it needed
\nexamining. \"Amnesty International's reports are always
\nexaggerated,\" he was quoted by AP as saying.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/army-chief-denies-involvement-in-freeport-attack-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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