Two troops face death penalty over arsenal raid<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Wamena<\/p>\n
At least two of nine soldiers, charged with involvement in
\nApril's deadly raid on the Wamena military district arsenal in
\nthe troubled province of Papua, are threatened with the death
\npenalty.<\/p>\n
Papua's Trikora Military Police commander Col. R. Heri Pramono
\nsaid on Friday the two faced the death penalty because they were
\nengaged in espionage activities and assisted the procurement of
\nweapons for enemies of the state.<\/p>\n
\"The case files of the two are still being processed in more
\ndetail,\" he was quoted by Antara as saying, while accompanying
\nArmy Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, who visited Papua on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Pramono declined to name the two soldiers.<\/p>\n
The dossiers of seven other suspects were also submitted to
\nthe province's military court.<\/p>\n
Pramono said the trials for the nine charged soldiers would
\nbegin after Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto
\nissued the endorsement for the tribunal.<\/p>\n
Seven of the suspects would only be charged with disciplinary
\noffenses that led to the raid on the Wamena District Military
\nCommand's arsenal, Pramono said.<\/p>\n
They could face at least four years in prison, and all nine
\ncould be discharged from service.<\/p>\n
Police believe the raid on the Wamena arsenal on April 4 was
\nthe work of Free Papua Movement (OPM) separatists. They also
\nsuspect it was an inside job, citing the ease with which it was
\ncarried out.<\/p>\n
The raid killed two soldiers and one suspected OPM member. The
\nattackers stole dozens of rifles and thousands of rounds of
\nammunition.<\/p>\n
The first four suspects are First Maj. Karel Itlay, First Sgt.
\nPilemon Pawiko, Chief Corp. Paus Kogoya and First Pvt. Eduardus
\nKimirop, whom prosecutors said had failed in their duty.<\/p>\n
Two other soldiers, First Sgt. Yarima Mable and Second Corp.
\nMuhidim Liwan Johari, are charged with deserting their posts at
\nthe time of the attack.<\/p>\n
Police also arrested seven alleged OPM members, including one
\nwhom they believe was the mastermind behind the attack.<\/p>\n
OPM is fighting a low-level war for independence in the vast,
\nbut sparsely populated province, where poverty is high despite
\nits rich natural resources.<\/p>\n
During the visit to Wamena on Friday, Ryamizard received
\nsupport from local tribal leaders to crack down on separatists in
\nPapua.<\/p>\n
They asked the Army chief to send more troops to the regency
\nto protect local residents from attacks by armed rebels.<\/p>\n
\"We want our region made safe from troublemaker groups
\ncampaigning for independence. To maintain security in Wamena, we
\nneed reinforcements of regular troops from Papua,\" said Kubilut
\nHubi, a local tribal leader.<\/p>\n
In a dialog with Ryamizard, the tribespeople vowed to support
\nthe integrity of the unitary state of Indonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/two-troops-face-death-penalty-over-arsenal-raid-1447893297",
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