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The religious leaders in West Papua, the easternmost province of Indonesia, have urged Megawati, the Present Indonesian President, to encourage the Jakarta based National commission on Human Rights to form an independent inquiry team to investigate the Timika attack killing two American civilians and one Indonesian civilian in August 2002.
The demand for the independent investigation is expressed in the letter to President Megawati, on 7th Spetember 2002. The letter was signed by eight religious leaders, namely, Mgr. Dr. Leo L. Ladjar, OFM as the Catholic bishop of jayapura who is representing the other three Catholic bishops in West Papua; Rev. Herman Saud, MTh. as the chairperson of the Christian Evangelical Church who is also the chairperson of the council of the Churches in West Papua; Rev. John Gobay, STh, as the Chairperson of the Indonesian Bible Camp Church in West Papua; Rev. P. Sawen, M.Div., as the chairperson of the council of Indonesian Churches in West Papua; Rev. A. Ayomi, MTh, as the Chairperson of the fellowship of the Baptist Churches in West Papua; Mr. Drs.H. Zubeir D. Hussein, as the Chairperson of the Indonesian Muslim Clerics in West Papua; Mr. Drs. Inyoman Suda, as the Chairperson of Indonesian Hinduism in West Papua; and Mr. dr. Gunawan Ingkokusumo, as the deputy chairperson of Indonesian Buddhist in West Papua.
In the Timika attack, on Saturday, 31st August 2002, Edwin Burgon and Ricky Burgon who were American civilians and Fx. Bambang Riwanto who was Indonesian civilian killed, and twelve others, mostly Americans, were wounded by an unidentified armed ban using modern guns. All of the victims were the American-owned Freeport copper and gold mine employees in Timika, southern part of West Papua. The attack was occurred in the mining area that is heavily guarded by the Indonesian security forces.
The independent investigation is deeply needed because the Indonesian military has blamed, without investigation, the followers of Kelly Kwalik, a local leader of the disorganized and poorly armed Free Papua Movement (OPM), for the attack. The OPM members have been using traditional bow and arrow.
Meanwhile Kelly sends a letter to the Indonesian police telling that he is not responsible for the attack. He fully supports the Papuans struggle for independent through peaceful means which is a genuine dialogue between the Indonesian government and the Papuans le by the Papuan Presidium Council. Kelly even accuses the Indonesian military as the perpetrator of the attack.
According to the religious leaders the Timika attack increases suspicion and distrustful at all the elements of socitety in Papua. Therefore "We the religious leaders request the President to give strong encourgement to the national commission on human rights to immmediately establish an inquiry team which is really independent and trully committed to work for the sake of justice and humanity", the religious leaders said.
The religious leader also called for the involvement of some American experts on investigation in the proposed independent inquiry team, because majority of the victims of the violence in Timika were American citizens. "We the religious leaders call on to the president to open wider possibility for the American experts in investigation to participate in the independent investigation", the religious leaders said.
The religious leaders also condemn the barbaric actions and called for all parties to not using violence as solution to a certain problem. "We the religious leaders in Papua strongly condemn the barbaric crime and strongly call upon to all parties to not using violence in solving a problem. And we the religious leaders request the related party to investigate throughly the case," the religious leaders said.
Those who gave the information were threatened to death by unidentified people. The witnesses began living in fear. It is therefore the religious leaders also have called for the guarantee of the witnesses on the attack. "The Timika attack constitutes a very gross violation of law. So, we urge the President to guarantee an effective protection for the witnesses", the religious leaders said.
The religous leaders considers the Timika attack as an effort by partcular party in order to hinder the civilian efforts to create as a zone of peace in West Papua. "We the religious leaders along with the government officials of the Province of Papua, and all society of Papua have been making serious efforts to create Papua as a zone of peace and introducing its concept to the extended society. However the attack in the area of Freeport mining in Tembagapura on Saturday, Agusut 31, 2003, reflected that there is a certain element hindering the creation of peace in Papua province", the religious leaders said.
Meanwhile the American ambassador to Indonesia in Jakarta, as reported by the Indonesian daily KOMPAS, 5th September 2003, has urged the Indonesian government to take all necessary steps to arrest and bring to the justice the perpetrators of the Timika attack.
The demand for an international investigation on the bloody attack in Timika was also raised Mohammad Thaha Alhamid, the secretary general of the Papuan Presidium council which is the peaceful pro-independence council, in his press conference on 3rd September 2000, in New York.
The Papuan Presidium Council calls for an international Inquiry Commission to investigate thoroughly the Timika attack so that the true facts can be known and the perpetrators whoever they may be can be brought to justice according to international standards. " We call on the International independent Inquiry team to investigate the attack, to reveal the perpetrators and those responsible for the attack, and bring them to justice", Thaha said.
According to Thaha, the international Inquiry commission is necessary because time after time the Indonesian government has been incapable of holding anyone responsible, legally and morally, for such crimes.
Thaha recognized that all the elements of extended society in West Papua have been making serious effort create West Papua as a zone of peace. "The Papuan rebels in the jungle are committed to cease fore and fully supporting the peaceful struggle for independent," Thaha said, who was in the States as an official guest of the State Department of the USA.
Since the second Papuan congress held in Jayapura, the capital of West Papua, from 28 May to 4 June 2000, the Papuans have decided to take dialogue and negotiation with the Indonesian government and other relates countries to solve the West Papua case peacefuly. "All the Papuans, the religious leaders, including the rebels in the jungle, support to take a genuine dialogue mediated by international experienced institute as the way to solve the West Papua case," Thaha said.
Thaha also recognize that the Papuan rebels have never ever killed foreigners during 40 years of the struggle for independence.
"Rather than provoking further conflict, the government of Indonesia should remove its commands unit and special forces from West Papua and engage itself in peaceful dialogue with the Papuans," Thaha said.
Military implicated
Jayapura-based Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy ( ELSHAM) has been investigating the deadly attack in Timika. The results of the ELSHAM investigation indicated that the OPM members were not involved in the shooting of the Freeport employees, and in fact their final findings point to the involvement of the Indonesian military in the attack. "The Army's Special Force, KOPPASSUS, are implicated in this attack", John Rumbiak told the journalists in Jakarta, 25 September 2002.
John Rumbiak is the supervisor of the ELSHAM and involved in the investigation of the Timika attack.
The Timika attack was a strategy of the Indonesian security forces to justify their presence to protect the Freeport cooper and gold mine for compensation. It is also a justification to crackdown peaceful separatist movement in West Papua", said John.
The involvement of the Indonesian military forces in the Timika attack is related to their financial interest. The International Crisis Group (ICG), in its report published on 13th September 2002, points out the involvement of Indonesian security forces in their business activities in West Papua. "Indonesian security forces have a financial interest in resource extraction in Papua, through direct involvement in logging and other activities and in the form of fees paid by resource companies for their protection," the report says.
Even the Indonesian police have assumed that the TNI may be involved in the Timika attack. The Jakarta Post, September 30, 2002, reported that the police have questioned 19 soldiers who were on duty during the attack.
Bullet casings at the scene of the attack showed the attackers used M-16 and SS1 rifles (standard issue for the TNI).
The Chief of police in West Papua, Ins. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika, as reported by The Jakarta Post, September 26, was saying that the police investigative team had collected hundreds of spent bullets, and firearms and the fired bus. He recognized that at least 200 bullets were fired at the bus during the attack. The OPM members in the jungle have used only spears and bows and arrows. They are poorly armed and have never targeted foreigners.
The U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, Ralph Boyce, as reported by the AP, September 13, was saying that there were no indications that the rebels had obtained automatic weapons.
The fact that Westerners were targeted and that the attackers appeared to have remained at the ambush site for 24 hours does not follow the pattern of recent OPM activity.
According to the Washington Post, September 10, Pastika said in an interview that members of the TNI may have carried out the attack to extort money or other concessions from Freeport.
John Rumbiak was quoted by Agence France Presse as saying that witnesses said they "saw a number of people wearing military uniforms" in the vicinity of the ambush site at the time of the incident. "They were holding automatic guns," Rumbiak told AFP.
The Washington Post, September 15, reported that the body of a key suspect - who was reported to be killed by the military in a shoot-out one day after the ambush - has been identified by his family as an informant for Kopassus.
Rumbiak told the Post that the suspect was a 24-year-old Papuan named Danianus Waker. His family approached Rumbiak's group on September 14 and said Waker had been employed by Kopassus for at least a year while working illegally as a gold panner.
An examination of the body also concluded that the man was killed about 24 hours before soldiers said they shot him. "It means that he was not killed by the military after the attack", John said.
Furthermore, an autopsy conducted by the Freeport hospital in Tembagapura had determined that the suspect suffered from chronic, massive enlargement of the testicles. "The condition could have made it difficult for him to engage in guerrilla activities, including traversing the rugged mountain terrain surrounding the mine", John said.
On September 14, the car of police investigating the murder was fired upon by unknown assailants, suggesting a campaign of intimidation aimed at thwarting the police inquiry. According to the Melbourne Age, September 16, Pastika said that another car had been shot at the day before. "This attack is committed by those who do not want the attack to be investigated", Pastika said as reported by the Local daily, Cenderawasih Pos, September 17, 2002.
However, he said he doubted the attacks were undertaken by the OPM. "It does not make sense the OPM is still there. The place is already sterilized by the army so, for me, it does not make any sense that this has been done by the OPM," Pastika said. The Indonesian military commander, Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, as reported by an Indonesian daily, Suara Pembaharuan, September 27, was denying the possible involvement of the Indonesian military in the Timika attack.
Death threats
As a result of these findings, John Rumbiak said in the press conference, the ELSHAM investigative team have received death threats, and have been intimidated and terrorized by those suspected of being involved in the shooting of the Freeport employees.
In various incidents members ELSHAM have been followed by military intelligence who have also questioned their neighbours. One staff member was almost killed in an incident provoked by two intelligence members and a military officer. The office of the ELSHAM secretariat receives daily visits from unknown people posing as trade people including food and clothing sellers, shoe repairers and parking inspectors. Other people gather around the office in what appears to be an attempt to keep ELSHAM members in constant fear of harassment and to create an atmosphere of intimidation.
Maj.Gen. Syafrie Sjamsudin, the head of the office for communication at the Indonesian Military headquarters in Jakarta, as reported by an Indonesian daily, Suara Pembaharuan, September 27, 2002, was even accusing the ESLHAM as a separatist institute. " The ESLHAM is the network of the Papuan Presidium council", Syafrie said.
Not only the rights institute and its staff members, but even those police who are investigating the incident have also received death threats. Despite of the death threats, the Police investigative team is still continuing to gather more facts and data on the attack. "We are still working on it," Pastika said
The Papuans have been calling upon the central government in Jakarta to withdraw of the thousands of combat troops deployed in West Papua, like the KOPASSUS and KOSTRAD Units, due to their involvement in violating human rights in West Papua for 40 years, since May 1, 1963. "For the sake of peace, troops recruited from outside the province should be pulled out of Papua," said Rev. Agustin Iwangin Tanamal of the Christian Evangelical Church, at a meeting with House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and other legislators in Jakarta, as reported by The Jakarta Post, June 7, 2002.
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