July 2, 2009 at 22:23:49

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Indonesia President SBY Covered Up Ambush Murder of U.S. Citizens

By John Miller (about the author)     Page 2 of 3 page(s)

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The U.S. Embassy noted in a cable to Washington: "Many Papuan groups are
calling for an independent investigation led by the U.S. Calls for an independent
probe are unrealistic, but we believe that Papua's Police Chief, who enjoys a
good reputation with Papuan activists (and U.S.), can conduct a fair
investigation." The Police Chiefs investigation later indicated that the
Indonesian military was involved. The FBI subsequently launched a separate
probe.

3) Attack Victims Treated in Secrecy at Australian Hospital

The survivors of the assault were airlifted out of Indonesia to a hospital in
Townsend, Australia. Here U.S. diplomats, the FBI, Queensland Police, and the
Australian Defense Force kept a tight lid on the situationpreventing the
victims from speaking with the press and even from contacting family members
for the first two days. See: Tom Hyland, "Lost in the Fog," The Age,
September 28, 2008. http://www.theage.com.au/world/lost-in-the-fog-20080927-4pb8.html?page=-1


4) Yudhoyono Assumes Coordinating Role in Investigation

Following police reports of Indonesian military involvement, these documents
reveal that Yudhoyono began to play a more active role in managing and
influencing the direction of the investigation. Yudhoyono met repeatedly with
the FBI field investigators, as well as high-level U.S. diplomats, blocking
their initial attempts to gain unmediated access to witnesses and material
evidence. This file includes a letter from Yudhoyono to the Charge D'Affaires
of the U.S. Embassy where he outlines a strategy for managing the broader
political and security aspects of the incident.

5) Commander-In-Chief Concerned About Washington Post Interview

The Washington Post reported in 2002 that senior Indonesian military officers,
including armed forces commander General Endriartono Sutarto, had discussed an
unspecified operation against Freeport McMoRan before the ambush in Timika.
General Sutarto vehemently denied that he or any other top military officers
had discussed any operation targeting Freeport. He sued The Washington Post for
US$1 billion and demanded an apology from the paper. Several months after this
lawsuit was settled out of court, The Washington Post asked to interview
Sutarto. This document contains notes from a meeting between the U.S.
Ambassador and Commander-in-Chief Sutarto where this interview request was
discussed: "Clearly concerned, General Sutarto asked why the Washington
Post wanted to interview him, as well as TNIs Strategic Intelligence Agency
(BAIS) and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chiefs regarding the Timika
case."  See: Ellen Nakashima and Alan Sipress, "Indonesia
Military Allegedly Talked of Targeting Mine," The Washington Post,
November 3, 2002. http://etan.org/et2002c/november/01-09/03mine.htm


6) Most Important Issue in U.S.-Indonesia Bilateral Relationship

The U.S. Ambassador stressed in a June 2003 meeting with Yudhoyono that justice
in the Timika killings was "the most important issue in the bilateral
relationship." During this period, FBI agents were given intermittent
access to evidence. Yudhoyono continued to play an active role in coordinating
the political aspects of the investigation. Taking an unusual personal interest
for someone with a Ministerial level position, Yudhoyono repeatedly met with
the FBI case agents the low-ranking U.S. investigators who were deployed to
Timika for field investigations.

7) Attorney General Ashcroft Suppressed Evidence

On June 24, 2005, Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert
Mueller announced that Antonius Wamang, an ethnic Papuan, was indicted by a
Federal Grand Jury for the Timika murders. The indictment alleged that Wamang
was a "terrorist" who sought independence from Indonesia. Following
this announcement, three respected human rights groups and indigenous
organizations charged that the U.S. Government suppressed evidence linking
Wamang to the Indonesian military. A peer-reviewed article, titled Criminal
Collaborations: Antonius Wamang and the Indonesian Military in Timika, details
the nature of these links. The group called for Wamang to be given a fair trial
in the U.S., rather than in notoriously corrupt Indonesian courts. See: Eben
Kirksey and Andreas Harsono, "Criminal Collaborations," South East
Asia Research, vol 16, no 2.  http://skyhighway.com/~ebenkirksey/writing/Kirksey-Harsono_Timika.pdf

Contact

Eben Kirksey, Ph.D., University of California (Santa Cruz)

        +1.831.429.8276 or
+1.831.600.5937 (English or Bahasa Indonesia)

Paula Makabory, Institute of Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights (Melbourne)

        +61.402.547.517 (English or
Bahasa Indoneisa)

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