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.