Army, militia suspects in Freeport murders<\/p>\n
Agencies, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Army soldiers from Indonesia's Kopassus special forces were
\ninvolved in a deadly ambush on employees of the Freeport mine in
\nPapua, a human rights investigator alleged on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Two Americans and one Indonesian died in the Aug. 31 attack on
\na mountain road leading to the American-owned Freeport copper and
\ngold mine. Twelve other Freeport employees, mostly Americans,
\nwere wounded.<\/p>\n
\"The Kopassus are implicated in this incident. That's number
\none,\" John Rumbiak of the Papua-based Institute for Human Rights
\nStudy and Advocacy (Els-Ham) said in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Releasing the findings of Els-Ham's investigation of the
\nattack, John Rumbiak called on the U.S. government to launch its
\nown probe into the killings, in conjunction with Indonesian
\nauthorities.<\/p>\n
Papua Police chief Ins. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika, meanwhile,
\nsaid on Wednesday his officers were still trying to determine
\nwhich group was responsible for the bloody attack.<\/p>\n
He said the police currently were scrutinizing the evidence,
\nincluding hundreds of spent bullets, firearms and a car.<\/p>\n
Mangku said at least 200 bullets were fired at the bus during
\nthe attack.<\/p>\n
The officer also said he had received a letter from the Free
\nPapua Movement (OPM) denying it had any involvement in the
\nincident.<\/p>\n
He, however, said the police had not dismissed the possibility
\nthat the group was behind the shooting.<\/p>\n
The Army has blamed the followers of Kelly Kwalik, a local
\nleader of the disorganized and poorly armed OPM, for the attack.<\/p>\n
Several top generals have already ruled out military or police
\ninvolvement in the attack.<\/p>\n
John Rumbiak, however, rejected the possibility of any OPM
\ninvolvement, saying he had based his findings on interviews with
\nwitnesses, including an informant who claimed to have been in a
\nvehicle in the area with Kopassus members before the ambush.<\/p>\n
The witness is now under police protection, Rumbiak said.<\/p>\n
It is not clear if the actual shooters were Papuan members of
\nKopassus or members of a Papuan militia group linked to the
\nmilitary, he added.<\/p>\n
Kopassus soldiers have also been implicated in the murder of
\nTheys Hiyo Eluay, chairman of the separatist Papua Presidium
\nCouncil which advocates peaceful dialog with Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Eluay was found dead in his car last November.<\/p>\n
Since June, the Military Police have been saying that several
\nKopassus soldiers would soon be tried in the Eluay case, but no
\ntrial has yet begun.<\/p>\n
The Papua copper and gold mine, one of the largest in the
\nworld, is operated by a local subsidiary of U.S.-based Freeport-
\nMcMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. It is considered a vital national
\nasset by the government and is heavily guarded by government
\ntroops.<\/p>\n
The massive outflow of revenue from the mine, combined with
\nhuman rights abuses linked to government security forces, has
\nprovided fuel for widespread separatist sentiment among the
\nPapuan people.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has granted the province special autonomy status,
\nwhich promises a greater share of revenue and respect for local
\nculture.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/army-militia-suspects-in-freeport-murders-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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