Four soldiers arrested due to Timika shooting
Four soldiers arrested due to Timika shooting
JAKARTA (JP): Four soldiers have been arrested for alleged
violations of standard military operational procedures, which
resulted in 16 civilian deaths in Timika, Irian Jaya, the
military announced on Saturday.
The soldiers, one second lieutenant and three privates are now
being held in Biak. They will be court martialled in January,
said Brig. Gen. Amir Syarifudin who is in charge of investigating
the Timika incident.
Amir said preliminary investigations show that the soldiers
made six procedural errors that led to the violation of human
rights.
Military investigators are expected to finish the
investigation by the middle of December so that they can submit
the dossiers to prosecutors in January, he said.
"The trial will be open to the public and those found guilty
will be punished," he told Antara news agency.
The Timika incidents captured international attention in
September after a group of non-governmental organizations urged
the National Commission on Human Rights to investigate it.
The organizations claimed that "at least" 17 civilians
perished in a series of incidents. The commission investigated
and found that 16 people had been killed.
Irian Jayan students and youths in Java added pressure to the
demands for an investigation by holding several demonstrations in
Jakarta.
The killings occurred during military operations against Free
Papua Movement separatists and efforts to safeguard the giant
copper mining plant, PT Freeport, which the government considers
vital.
The commission, which announced its findings last month, said
that 11 bodies were found outside the Freeport project and
another five inside the project area.
The Armed Forces, which has conducted its own investigation,
conceded last month that the troops violated procedures and
regulations.
Sources at non-governmental organizations claim that the
incidents started late last year and continued up to the middle
of this year. During hearings with members of the House of
Representatives, Armed Forces Commander in Chief Gen. Feisal
Tanjung said one incident, in which troops overtook a group of
rebels, happened in June.
Amir said that the trial of the four soldiers will open in the
middle of January in Jayapura.
Chief of the Trikora Regional Military Command, Maj. Gen.
Dunidja, has repeatedly stressed that the military is serious
about handling the case.
Amir said the military investigators will summon 27 witnesses,
mostly villagers from eastern Timika where the incidents
occurred. (pan)