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)