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)