July 2, 2009 at 22:23:49

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

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1 July, 2009 - Previously secret U.S. State Department documents implicate the
President of Indonesia in a probable cover-up of an ambush in West Papua. The
documents show Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is running for reelection on July
8, maneuvering behind the scenes to manage the investigation into the August
2002 murder of three teachers -- one Indonesian and two U.S. citizens.

"Yudhoyono brought politics into a case that should have just been about
forensic facts," said Dr. Eben Kirksey, an anthropologist at the
University of California, Santa Cruz and a regional specialist. "The documents
reveal that Yudhoyono initially stalled attempts by the FBI to launch an
independent investigation," he continued. The U.S. Congress, outraged at
these stalling tactics, blocked funds for Indonesian military training until
there was cooperation with the FBI.

The documents released today add a new twist to a hotly contested Presidential
race.

"Yudhoyono is not the only controversial former soldier running in the
presidential election," said John M. Miller, National Coordinator of the
East Timor and Indonesia Action Network. "Vice presidential candidates and
former generals Wiranto and Prabowo Subianto were involved in well-documented
human rights crimes in East Timor and throughout Indonesia."

When a police investigation implicated Indonesian military shooters as the
likely murderers of the schoolteachers, Yudhoyono became involved. Yudhoyono, a
retired General and then the Coordinating Minister of Political and Security
Affairs, wrote to the Charge D'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta that "I
have dispatched a fact finding team led by one of my deputies to Timika and its
surrounding (sic), to find additional information and other related facts
especially on a broader political and security aspects of the incident."
Timika, the site of the attack, is in the remote province of Papua, where U.S.
mining giant Freeport McMoRan (FCX) operates a concession.

"Yudhoyono's stalling tactics let the Indonesian military cover their
tracks, said Paula Makabory, a Papuan human rights activist who founded the Institute
of Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights in Australia. "The 'fact
finders' under his command systematically intimidated witnesses and tampered
with material evidence," Makabory continued.

Following high-level negotiations with Bush administration officials, who
promised Indonesia millions in military aid, Yudhoyono allowed the FBI into his
country. "By the time the FBI were granted access the trail was
cold," said Makabory. "The FBI investigation proceeded within a
narrow framework that fit the Bush administration agenda," said Dr.
Kirksey.

"The Special Agents found a fall man, while tiptoeing around evidence
connecting their man to the Indonesian military," Kirksey added.

Antonius Wamang, an ethnic Papuan, was indicted by a U.S. grand jury for his role
in the attack. He was apprehended in 2006 by the FBI and sentenced to life in
Indonesian prison. Wamang had extensive ties to the Indonesian military,
according to a peer-reviewed article, Criminal Collaborations, co-authored by
Dr. Kirksey and Andreas Harsono, an Indonesian investigative reporter (link
below).

The declassified documents disclosed today were obtained through a Freedom of
Information Act Request (FOIA) by Dr. Bradley Simpson of the National Security
Archive. The State Department found 62 documents relevant to the Timika
murders. They released only two of these documents in full and 20 others "with
excisions." The rest were withheld. The FBI did not release any documents,
writing: No records responsive to your FOIA request were located by a search of
the automated indices. The FBI is notorious for not complying with Freedom of
Information Act requests.

"The documents reveal evidence of a cover-up," said Dr. Kirksey. "The
fact that many relevant documents were not released is more evidence of the
same."

Selections from these documents are published here in seven distinct sections
[links to the PDFs of the documents can be found here: http://etan.org/news/2009/06Timika.htm

1) Response by the State Department and the FBI to the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) Request

2) Initial Reports About Attackers; Yudhoyono Orders a Quick Response The first
State Department reports about the 2002 attack seriously entertained two
theories: that the perpetrators were Papuan independence fighters (OPM
guerillas) or rogue elements of the Indonesian military. The documents note
that the assault took place on a foggy mountain road near a military checkpoint
and an Army Strategic Reserve Forces post. Upon learning of the attack,
Yudhoyono ordered a quick response to restore security and to investigate the
attack.

1 | 2 | 3

www.etan.org

John M. Miller is National Coordinator of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). He is Treasurer of the War Resisters League.

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

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