The Age [Australia], January 17 2003
FBI to probe Papua mine killings
By Matthew Moore
Indonesia Correspondent
Jakarta
January 17 2003
The Indonesian military has promised to cooperate fully with a new Bali-style
investigation in which the American FBI will help probe the fatal shootings of two US
schoolteachers at the Freeport mine in Papua last year.
An informed US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, has revealed that a
small group of FBI officers will arrive in Indonesia within days to help Indonesian police
find out who planned and executed the attack that also killed an Indonesian and
wounded 12 others, mainly US teachers.
The agreement to allow FBI officers to join the inquiry comes after it was revealed
before Christmas that President George Bush had sent a message to Indonesian
President Megawati Sukarnoputri insisting the killers must be found.
He also made agreement to the FBI involvement a condition of renewed military links
between the two countries.
Although members of the Indonesian military have been accused privately by Western
governments and human rights groups of carrying out the attack, the Indonesian
military hierarchy remains adamant that its members were not involved.
Indonesia's military spokesman, General Sjafrie Samsoeddin, said yesterday: "We
welcome the FBI involvement... it was the TNI (military) who had the initiative in the
beginning to invite the FBI to investigate.
"We then put up the idea to the government and the government agreed."
He said the military would give "full access" to FBI and Indonesian police
investigators.
"Please announce it if we are guilty and please announce it if we are not," he said.
This week the US official said all levels of the Indonesian Government, including the
military, had agreed on the need for FBI involvement.
President Bush contacted President Megawati when the police inquiry stalled.
The US Government official said all levels of the Indonesian Government now realised
how serious the issue had become.
He said: "... the Indonesian Government, including police and military leadership,
understands this is a very important issue for the American people and a barrier to get
to the bottom of what happened in the murders of two American citizens is going to
have an effect on our whole relationship.
"This is not an issue where the military to military component of our relationship could
be affected by this, no, it's the whole relationship."
The US official said that with the police inquiry stalled, a new inquiry would have to
start from scratch more than four months after the attack.
The suspected involvement of elements of the military will also make it a much more
sensitive investigation than the multi-national force working on the Bali bombings.
"By definition it's going to be more difficult given the possible range of people who may
have actually committed these murders," the US official said.
The official said the head of Indonesia's military, General Endriartono Sutarto, realised
that finding the killers was critical to the US-Indonesia relationship.
Copyright © 2002 The Age Company Ltd
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