Rights commission finds evidence of Timika killings

JAKARTA (JP): An investigating team set up by the National Commission on Human Rights announced yesterday that it had found evidence that a number of civilians had been killed in the town of Timika, Irian Jaya, but said it had not yet determined whether human rights had been violated.

"The Commission will announce on Friday the results of the investigation and its conclusion as to whether there have been violations of human rights in the Timika case," team leader Marzuki Darusman told The Jakarta Post, yesterday.

The team, set up by the commission last month, concluded on Saturday its three-day investigation into the alleged murder of 17 civilians by military personnel in copper mining complex of PT Freeport Indonesia.

"There is evidence to support Bishop Munninghoff's account of the murder, torture and disappearance of civilians in Timika, as we have seen bullet cartridges and machetes which the local people said were used in the killings," Marzuki said.

Marzuki and the other team members Clementino dos Reis Amaral, Djoko Sugianto, Soegiri and Bambang Suharto returned to Jakarta on Saturday from their second investigatory trip to Timika. The team conducted its first investigation early last month.

Marzuki said that, in gathering the evidence, the team had questioned 40 people, including several eyewitnesses, some of whom had been directly involved in the clashes.

Other members of the team also confirmed that clashes between members of the Army and the local people had taken place, but they stopped short of saying that the bloody incident had involved violations of the rights of the local people.

"The duty of the team is only to collect data. The conclusion will be made by all 25 members of the commission," Marzuki said, adding that the conclusion would meet all legal criteria.

Marzuki lauded the measures taken by the Indonesian Army in sending its own team to investigate the case and its plan to set up an officers' honor council to look into the matter. These were positive steps on the part of the Armed Forces, Marzuki added.

Last week, the Armed Forces Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. Soeyono said that the Army would establish an honor council after preliminary findings suggested that there might have been procedural errors in the way in which the local military had handled the situation in Timika.

According to Marzuki, procedural errors could have been triggered by the late delivery of logistics and other operational needs to the troops stationed in the remote Timika.

"Poor logistic supplies to troops stationed in the field are likely to hamper their operational quality," he said.

He called on the central government to adopt a totally new approach in its efforts to improve the quality of life of Timika villagers, adding that most of them are poorly educated.

"Freeport is not the only one operating in the area, there are dozens other companies, including Jayanti group, forest concessionaires and suppliers," he said, saying that the Timika incident should be viewed from broader perspective. (03)

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