Army cracks down on rebels

Army cracks down on rebels

MANOKWARI, Irian Jaya: The Armed Forces (ABRI) is still
tracking down the rebels that killed two of the 11 people being
held hostage in the jungle last month.

Manokwari military commander Col. Frans Willem de Wanna said
on Saturday that the military operation is focusing on the
followers of Kelly Kwalik and Daniel Kogoya.

Kwalik and Kogoya's men held 11 hostages from Jan. 8 through
May 15 in the jungle-clad Mapnduma village. Two hostages were
killed by the kidnappers when ABRI launched a rescue operation.

Frans said that the current military operation is being
coordinated by Maj. Gen. Dunidja, chief of the Trikora regional
military command which oversees security in Maluku and Irian
Jaya, Antara reported.

He said ABRI has posted 611 soldiers in the Timika and
Tembagapura subdistricts, where the plants of PT Freeport
Indonesia, a giant American gold and copper company, are located.

Local indigenous people occasionally have vandalized the
company's facilities to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with
the "share" given to them.

Frans said the rebels are no serious threat to PT Freeport's
operations because their number is declining.

ABRI members in the area have been the target of human rights
abuse allegations. (pan)