Military denies report of massacre in Irian

Military denies report of massacre in Irian

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces yesterday denied reports originating from Australia suggesting that its members had massacred as many as 37 separatist rebels in Irian Jaya.

"There have been separate clashes, we lost one man and they lost one. But there was never any massacre," Soeyono told reporters.

"I haven't received any report about incidents involving that many casualties. All the reports I've received indicate that Irian Jaya has been pretty calm," he said after attending a ceremony at Halim Perdanakusuma airport to mark the Air Force's 49th anniversary, Antara reported.

He added that clashes with rebels are "normal" occurrences in Irian Jaya.

The Australian Council for Overseas Aid accused Indonesian soldiers, with the help of civilian security guards at the giant American copper mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia, of killing 37 Irianese -- 22 civilians and 15 members of a separatist group -- who opposed the giant mining project. The council alleges that the incidents occurred between June 1994 and last February.

The allegation prompted the Australian government to ask its embassy in Jakarta for a follow-up. Ambassador Allan Taylor, according to an embassy official, will make a visit to the province next month.

Freeport's office in Jakarta has denied the accusation and the military promised a swift investigation last week.

Soeyono said yesterday that all the reports received from Irian Jaya indicate that there was never such an incident and that the accusation followed a same pattern as those used in the past to discredit Indonesia. (emb)