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.