Military denies servicemen involved in Freeport case
Military denies servicemen involved in Freeport case
Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto denied
on Monday the alleged role of military officers in the Freeport
shooting incident in Papua but admitted that some servicemen were
involved in the murder of Papua proindependence leader Theys Hiyo
Eluay.
Speaking at a media briefing at TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap,
East Jakarta, Endriartono said that he had asked the chief of
Military Police (Puspom) to meet the Irian Jaya Police chief to
clear the military's name in the ambush on a convoy of Freeport
employees in August.
"The police do not have any evidence of military involvement
and the witness who accused Capt. Markus of being involved in the
incident cannot prove his account," he said.
Two Americans and an Indonesian were killed and 12 others
injured in the incident near Freeport's gold and copper mining
site.
Around 15 gunmen, whose identities and whereabouts remain
unknown, attacked two buses carrying teachers from the
Tembagapura International School.
Washington Post quoted Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. I Made
Mangku Pastika on Sunday that he had told Military Police
Commander Maj. Gen. Sulaiman AB and another high-ranking army
officer who visited Papua about a week ago that the police
suspect Army soldiers carried out the attack.
Endriartono said that the witness was confused when he
discovered that the man he presumed was Army officer Markus
during the attack was in fact an officer who was studying in
Bandung.
The TNI chief, however, said the investigation was still
ongoing and he would rely on the judiciary to determine the
perpetrators of the attack.
"We will also sue Elsham for its false accusation. They have
tainted the image of TNI by spreading baseless accusations,"
Endriartono said.
Endriartono was referring to the Papuan Institute for Human
Rights and Advocacy Study which said in September that it had
witnesses to prove that the military was involved in the Freeport
incident.
Endriartono said that six servicemen were about to face a
military tribunal, on charges of killing Papuan proindependence
leader Theys Hiyo Eluay.
"I admit that my men were involved in the case but I'm
consistent in my stance that we should enforce the law. Whosoever
violates the law should be punished regardless his title and
position," he said.
Endriartono said that although the investigation and the
dossiers had been completed, he did not know about the motive of
the crime.
Earlier, the National Military Police revealed that the six
suspects were from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).
Three of the suspects include three middle ranking officers,
Lt. Col. Hartomo, Maj. Doni Hutabarat and Capt. Rionaldo. The
other three are non-commissioned officers.
The suspects are charged with committing murder, and may face
a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted.
Theys was found dead after he was reportedly abducted by
unknown armed men on his way home from a function held at the
local headquarters of Kopassus in November last year.
Theys' driver, Aristoteles, is still missing and is presumed
dead.
In a bid to unravel the murder, the National Military Police
has interviewed a total of 109 witnesses, 40 of whom are military
officers.