Irian veterans criticize handling of Timika case
JAKARTA (JP): A number of senior Irianese veterans that fought for Irian Jaya's integration with Indonesia in the early 1960s have criticized the military's handling of the situation in their home province.
The veterans gathered at Irian Jaya's representative office in Jakarta on Saturday to speak out against the way the military continues to brand almost every protester as a "separatist".
Their protest occurred while the National Commission on Human Rights team was winding up its second trip to Timika, Irian Jaya, where several Irianese were reportedly killed in unusual circumstances early this year.
The Army headquarters in Jakarta has also sent a team to the location to investigate allegations that the Irianese were slain by the local military.
The local military earlier acknowledged that there had been a clash between troops and what it called "separatist" rebels in Timika, but said only one person was killed.
One report put together by a group of non-governmental organizations put the death toll closer to 11.
"If it is true that there are some separatists in Irian Jaya, and the military could not handle them, let us Irianese take over," Johannes Abraham Dimara, one of the veterans, told journalists on Saturday.
Activists
The meeting on Saturday, also attended by Irianese students and activists, was used to review their position on the Timika case before meeting with members of the House of Representatives, where they will discuss the issue on Tuesday.
On the same day, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Gen. Feisal Tanjung is scheduled to hold a hearing with the House's Commission I on foreign affairs and security, during which the Timika case will also be discussed.
Dimara and the other veterans present on Saturday said they fought for the integration of Irian Jaya, then called West New Guinea and ruled by the Netherlands, with the Republic of Indonesia in the 1960s.
Dimara, who did hard labor under Dutch rule, said he even traveled to the United Nations to see the signing of the recognition of Indonesia's sovereignty over Irian Jaya.
"If the killing goes on, I don't think there is another alternative to returning Irian Jaya to the United Nations's administration," he said.
Timika is the responsibility of the Indonesian government, especially the regional authorities, he said. "I believe that the government is not wrong, but the regional authorities should be able to control and prevent such cases from happening," he added.
Also on Saturday, the Commission's fact-finding team, led by its deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman, returned to Jakarta from Timika.
It is not immediately clear how soon the commission will publish its findings but there are now talks of a possible third trip to Timika to allow the team to talk to one of the separatist leaders, identified as Kelly Kwalik.
The Armed Forces Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. Soeyono said on Friday that the Army will establish an officers' honor council to take up the matter after preliminary findings stated that there might have been procedural errors in the way the local military handled the situation in Timika.
Suyono, as quoted by the Kompas daily newspaper on Saturday, said the errors might have occurred in the field and that the incident was not part of military policy.
The honor council will be established at the regional military command level, Suyono said.
The Army earlier this year set up an officers' honor council to investigate the killings of five East Timorese villagers mistaken for rebels. The council later established that there was a violation of standard procedures and recommended the removal of local officers and a court martial for some of the field officers. (03)