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