FBI agents revisit Papua: Police
FBI agents revisit Papua: Police
Agence France-Presse, Jakarta
Four members of the FBI have visited Papua to ask about an Indonesian police probe into the ambush killing of two Americans and an Indonesian in August, the provincial police chief said Tuesday.
Papua police chief I Made Mangku Pastika told AFP the four, all members of the FBI, left Papua Sunday after a visit of three or four days.
He said they were seeking information about the August ambush by unknown gunmen on a mountain road leading to the giant U.S.- owned Freeport copper and gold mine, one of the world's largest.
The three dead were all employees of an international school operated by Freeport. Another 12 Freeport employees, mostly Americans, were also wounded.
Pastika, who met the agents from the Federal Bureau Investigation for three or four hours, said they were not investigating.
The U.S. embassy in Jakarta could not be immediately reached for comment.
"They wanted to get information from us, what we have done, and discuss with us, maybe offer ideas about things not yet done," Pastika said.
But he said the agents concluded Pastika's police were conducting the investigation correctly.
A senior detective from Indonesian police headquarters in Jakarta escorted the FBI agents, Pastika said. He did not know which FBI office the agents came from.
The visit marks the second time the FBI has visited Papua to monitor the case.
In early September, one agent described as a "legal officer" accompanied two officials from the U.S. embassy in Jakarta on a visit to the ambush scene and meetings with Papuan police.
At that time, an embassy spokesman said the delegation was simply trying to find out more about what had happened, and said the officials were not conducting an investigation.
Army officials have previously blamed the ambush on Kelly Kwalik, leader of a poorly-armed and disorganized separatist army. Kwalik denies involvement.
Papua's Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy alleges soldiers from the army's Kopassus special forces were implicated in the killings near the mine which is heavily guarded by government troops.