washingtonpost.com, Thursday, January 12, 2006; 12:40 AM
Indonesia Holds 12 in Deaths of Americans
By CHRIS BRUMMITT, The Associated Press
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Police arrested 12 suspects in the killings of two American
schoolteachers in a 2002 ambush, including a man indicted by a U.S. grand jury over
the slayings, officials said Thursday.
The attack on a convoy of Americans complicated ties between Washington and
Jakarta amid initial suspicio! ns that Indonesian security forces guarding a
U.S.-owned gold mine in Papua province may have been involved.
An FBI investigation found no evidence implicating Indonesian troops.
The suspects, all described as separatists from Indonesia's Papua province, were
arrested late Wednesday night Timika district, said local police chief Lt. Col. Dedi
Junaidi. "They are now being interrogated," he told The Associated Press. Indonesian
authorities have yet to charge them, he said.
Junaidi said the suspects include Anthonius Wamang, who was indicted by a U.S.
grand jury in 2004 on two counts of murder, eight counts of attempted murder and
other related offenses in connection with the slayings. He could face the death
penalty if convicted.
Wamang is described in U.S. court papers as an operational commander of the
military arm of the Free Papua Movement, which s! eeks an independent state. The
FBI has regularly visited the province to investigate the crime.
State Department spokeswoman Darla Jordan said the arrest of Wamang was "a
welcome development and we look forward to seeing justice done in this case."
Indonesia has no extradition agreement with the United States and it is unclear
whether Jakarta will hand Wamang over to Washington.
The ambush on Aug. 31, 2002 took place on a road leading to a giant Timika gold
mine owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Mine Inc. The two Americans
killed _ Rickey Lynn Spier, 44, of Littleton, Colo., and Leon Edwin Burgon, 71, of Sun
River, Ore. _ were schoolteachers at the mine. One Indonesian teacher was also
killed.
Local and international rights groups have cast doubt on Wamang's involvement in the
ambush, with some saying he worked as a military informer. They have suggested the
attack was an ! effort by the military to discredit the separatist movement or extort
money from Freeport, which has been accused of illegally paying millions of dollars to
security forces to guard the mine.
New Orleans-based Freeport has denied breaking any laws, saying it has been
transparent about providing logistical support to Indonesian troops near its mine. The
New York Times reported last month that Freeport paid nearly $20 million to military
and police officials in Papua between 1998 and 2004.
Washington has said that Indonesian cooperation with the FBI probe into the killings
was a condition last year of restoring military contacts with Jakarta frozen since 1999
due to human rights concerns.
Many in Washington were keen to re-engage with the military, which they see as vital
in the country's fight against al-Qaida-linked Islamic militants.
© 2006 The Associated Press
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