THE NEW YORK TIMES, Monday, September 2, 2002
Mystery Surrounds Deadly Ambush of Americans in Indonesia
By RAYMOND BONNER
JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 1 -- An ambush in Indonesia's Irian Jaya Province on
Saturday that left two Americans dead and several others seriously wounded did not
appear to be part of an international terrorist plot against Americans, Western
diplomats said today.
The F.B.I. has been interviewing survivors, who were flown to Townsville, Australia, for
treatment. The wounded are reported to be in stable condition.
Western officials said the attack appeared to be the latest round in the violence that
had engulfed the remote, easternmost province, also called West Papua. Much of the
upheaval has been directed at Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc., which
operates one of the world's largest copper and gold mines there. The company has
been accused by indigenous Papuans of destroying sacred lands, ravaging the
environment and not sharing the mineral wealth with local communities.
The ambush, on a tortuous mountain road, occurred close to the facility operated by
Freeport-McMoran, one of the largest foreign investors in Indonesia. The victims were
teachers and their families from the company's international school.
No one has claimed responsibility for the ambush. None of the victims were robbed,
nor were any demands made.
[Military officials said on Sunday that troops killed a man suspected in the ambush in
a shootout near the site of the attack, The Associated Press reported.]
Indonesian officials have accused rebels of the Free Papua Movement, which has
been waging guerrilla war for independence for many years. But diplomats warned that
blaming rebels was a rush to judgment, reflecting the government's agenda.
Indonesia's problems in keeping Papua, which is closer to Australia than to Jakarta,
are similar to those it had in East Timor, which eventually gained independence.
The diplomats noted that the Papua rebels had not attacked foreigners during their
40-year struggle for independence. "I don't see what they gain from it," one diplomat
said.
The attackers had automatic weapons, which raises the possibility that elements of
Indonesian security forces were involved, diplomats said.
Indonesian police and military units provide security for Freeport-McMoran as well as
for other foreign natural resource companies. These units have been accused of
carrying out acts of violence in order to fuel ethnic tensions.
Last November, one of the most prominent leaders of the independence movement in
Papua, Theys Eluay, was killed after leaving a social gathering with soldiers. The
government initially blamed rebels. But under pressure from the United States and
other Western governments, which said that the evidence was clear that soldiers had
killed Mr. Eluay, several soldiers have been named as suspects.
Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
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