LAKSAMANA.Net, February 4, 2003 07:34 PM
Papua Military Chief Loses Job After Murders
Laksamana.Net - Chief of the Papua Regional Military Command, Major General
Mahidin Simbolon, will be replaced amid allegations that his troops murdered two
American schoolteachers, an Indonesian schoolteacher and pro-independence leader
Theys Eluay.
The Army on Tuesday (4/2/03) announced that Simbolon will be replaced by his
deputy Brigadier General Nurdin Zaenal and reassigned to military headquarters in
Jakarta.
Army spokesman Brigadier General Ratyono said the move is part of a “routine”
military reshuffle involving 27 generals.
But the Associated Press quoted a senior military official as saying Simbolon was
being replaced because of the "ongoing problems in Papua".
Simbolon, regarded as one of the Army's most experienced officers in covert
operations, reportedly played a key role in providing logistical support for the military's
murderous militia proxies in East Timor.
A veteran of the 1975 invasion of East Timor, he has recently been linked to several
murders in resource-rich Papua province.
Seven members of the Army's elite Special Forces (Kopassus) are currently being
tried by a military tribunal, charged with the murder of flamboyant pro-independence
leader Theys Eluay, who had advocated secession through peaceful means.
Theys died of asphyxiation in Papua on November 10, 2001, while being driven home
after attending a celebration at the local Kopassus base. Reports say he was
strangled by Kopassus members.
Despite allegations that senior generals masterminded the killing because of a
dispute over logging profits, it appears that only junior officers will face punishment.
The trial of the seven Kopassus members commenced on January 3, 2003, at a
military court in Surabaya, East Java. The soldiers face a maximum sentence of 15
years if found guilty. Critics claim the proceedings are a farce because the military is
accused of the killing and is running the trial.
The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) has strongly denied ordering the assassination.
Shortly after the killing, Simbolon claimed Theys had died of natural causes.
On August 31, 2002, unidentified gunmen ambushed a group of American and
Indonesian teachers near the giant gold and copper mine run by US-based Freeport
McMoRan in Papua. Two Americans and their Indonesian colleague were killed and
eight Americans injured.
Immediately after the killings, Simbolon claimed a poorly armed faction of the
separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM) was responsible for the ambush. The
Indonesian government leapt to support his unproven assertion, issuing a statement
that condemned “the barbaric shooting by an armed separatist group”.
But human rights groups say Simbolon's troops carried out the killings in an effort to
ensure the provincial military command would be able to continue extorting protection
money from Freeport.
It remains to be seen whether the removal of Simbolon from the Papua military
command will mollify the US, which has been demanding the perpetrators of the
Freeport killings be brought to justice.
In April 2002, Simbolon and about a dozen soldiers reportedly paid an unscheduled
visit to energy giant BP's liquefied natural gas (LNG) project at Tangguh in Papua –
apparently to intimidate the company into hiring the military to provide “security”.
Simbolon's group reportedly sauntered around the project site, toting automatic
weapons and frightening local staff.
BP is investing $2 billion to construct an LNG plant at Tangguh and wants to avoid
having a large TNI presence at the site, fully aware that acts of brutality by Indonesian
troops have caused major problems for Freeport in Papua and LNG producer
ExxonMobil in Aceh province.
The military has long been accused of serious human rights abuses in its efforts to
crush the separatist movement in Papua. BP wants to avoid any similar problems and
has therefore been concentrating on developing a community-based security program
involving locals.
But Simbolon told BP officials that TNI is required by the Indonesian constitution to
protect national assets, including the Tangguh project. There are very real concerns
that TNI may use its shadowy networks to initiate security threats in order to create a
need for its services.
Only time will tell whether the removal of Simbolon will reduce tensions and unsolved
murders in Papua.
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