Army chief denies involvement in Freeport attack

Army chief denies involvement in Freeport attack

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu denied on Thursday
allegations that soldiers stationed in Papua were involved in a
shooting last month near the Freeport mine that left two
Americans and one Indonesian dead.

Ryamizard was responding to allegations by John Rumbiak, a
human rights investigator with the Papua-based Institute for
Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham), that soldiers from the
Army's Special Force (Kopassus) were involved in the deadly
ambush on employees of the American-owned Freeport copper and
gold mine.

"We cannot arbitrarily accuse people of committing a crime
until we obtain solid evidence. The military and police always
need time to complete an investigation into criminal cases
allegedly involving their members

"Let us just wait for the police to finish their investigation
into the Freeport shooting. Should it be proven that my soldiers
were involved, I will not hesitate to punish them. Many of my
soldiers have been dismissed because of undisciplined behavior,"
Ryamizard said on the sidelines of a meeting he held with chief
editors at the Army's headquarters.

Ryamizard further brushed aside allegations that the attack
was triggered by a dispute between soldiers over territorial
arrangements.

"When I was in charge of Kostrad, I told the Freeport
executives that my soldiers should not be asked to guard the mine
compound. But the company insisted on asking for help," Ryamizard
said. Kostrad is the Army's Strategic Reserves Command, which has
nearly 40,000 troops.

For years, Freeport has asked for military help to protect its
compound because of security concerns raised by the activities of
the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM).

The police have yet to charge anyone for the attack on the
Freeport employees. The military has blamed the shooting on
followers of Kelly Kwalik, a local OPM leader.

Because of this continued uncertainty, Elsham called on the
U.S. government to launch its own investigation into the
killings, in cooperation with the Indonesian authorities.

Separately, Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen.
Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said allegations of military involvement in
the attack were not based on any legal evidence, and were aimed
at discrediting Kopassus and TNI.

"They have not provided proper evidence to support the
allegation. It is slander and we (the TNI) are considering a
lawsuit," Sjafrie told The Jakarta Post.

The military has also denied involvement in the killing of
Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay last November, as
well as other politically related cases in the province. Nine
Kopassus members have been arrested in relation to the Theys
killing.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International charged on Thursday that the
Indonesian police killed, tortured and jailed dozens of people
last year during a crackdown in Papua.

The London-based rights group said in a report that police
went on a bloody rampage after unidentified gunmen twice attacked
logging companies in the province and killed nine people,
including five police officers.

"Rather than identifying and bringing to justice the
individuals responsible for the attacks on the logging companies,
the operation appears to have turned into a campaign of revenge
against the immediate community and beyond," the rights group
said in a statement.

Provincial police chief Brig. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika
dismissed Amnesty International's report, saying it needed
examining. "Amnesty International's reports are always
exaggerated," he was quoted by AP as saying.