FBI stars investigates Timika ambush<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Several agents of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
\nhave started investigating the deadly Aug. 31 ambush in Timika,
\nPapua, which claimed the lives of two American teachers and one
\nIndonesian, an official said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. Sudi Silalahi, an assistant to Coordinating Minister
\nfor Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
\nunderlined that the FBI was not part of the joint military-police
\ninvestigative team set up by the Indonesian government.<\/p>\n
\"A couple of days ago, we were informed that some FBI agents
\nhad arrived in Papua to probe the attack against dozens of
\nemployees of PT Freeport Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"But they are outsiders,\" Sudi said at a news conference here
\non Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Sudi, however, refused to say if the agents would be granted
\naccess to witnesses or holding field investigations to determine
\nsome of the evidence found previously at the shooting site both
\nby local police and the military.<\/p>\n
A six-month investigation of the case carried out by both the
\nmilitary and the police resulted in conflicting conclusions as
\npolice disclosed that they had found evidence linking the Army
\nStrategic Reserves Command (Kostrad)'s battalion 515 to the
\nambush, while TNI had rejected the accusation and pointed a
\nfinger at the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM).<\/p>\n
The Papua-based Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy
\n(Elsham) has accused military members of being involved in the
\nattack. But the allegation was addressed to members of the Army's
\nSpecial Forces (Kopassus) Tribhuwana Task Force, which was
\nassigned to the province.<\/p>\n
The alleged involvement of military soldiers was floated after
\nPapuan Police and Elsham listened to the testimony of Decky
\nMurif, who is believed to be a separatist member.<\/p>\n
The Dec. 21 shooting of three Papuan women -- including Elsie
\nRumbiak Bonay, the wife of Elsham's director, Johanis G. Bonay --
\nnear the Papua-PNG border was believed to have links with
\nElsham's statement.<\/p>\n
Police, nevertheless, failed to hold a field investigation of
\nthe shooting attack due to another shooting incident that injured
\ntwo military officers as they attended the police's on-site
\ninvestigation.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has reportedly asked President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nto establish a Bali-style joint investigative team so that the
\nFBI agents would be allowed to participate.<\/p>\n
The government set up a joint international investigative team
\nto probe the deadly Bali bombing that killed over 190 people and
\ninjured some 300 others. Members of the investigative team
\ninclude the Australian Police.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Hendardji, a deputy commander of the
\nNational Military Police and head of the joint military-police
\nteam, reiterated that \"thus far, we still cannot name a suspect
\nresponsible for the attack\".<\/p>\n
Hendardji -- who planned to leave for Makassar, South
\nSulawesi, as a transit stop on Wednesday evening before flying on
\nto Papua -- held a meeting with several police investigators at
\nthe National Police Headquarters, after which he said that the
\ntestimony given by Decky Murif was not correct.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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