Army rejects Freeport attack report

Army rejects Freeport attack report

JAKARTA: The Indonesian military Monday dismissed as
"irrational" a U.S. newspaper report that senior officers may
have planned an ambush in Papua province in August that killed
two Americans.

Armed Forces spokesman Lt. Col. J. Nachrowi said the military
would investigate the Washington Post report alleging officers
discussed an operation near the U.S.-owned Freeport gold and
copper mine.

But he firmly rejected any suggestion the military planned an
August 31 attack that left three people dead.

"We need to verify the truth of the information but it would
be irrational to think that any institution in the military would
carry out such a thing. This is something impossible," Nachrowi
told AFP.

"We consider this information as an attempt to discredit the
military," he said, noting it would be against the interests of
the military and Indonesia to stage the attack.

Two U.S. teachers and an Indonesian colleague were killed
August 31 when gunmen opened fire on buses carrying them past the
giant Freeport mine in Timika district.

The daily, citing a U.S. government official and another US
source, said senior Indonesian military officials had discussed
an unspecified operation against Freeport before the ambush.

If confirmed, the news of the military's involvement could
seriously undermine U.S. efforts to resume full military ties
with Indonesia. These were severed in 1999 amid military-backed
violence in East Timor. -- AFP