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Indonesia arrests 15 Papuan Bad Guys...
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu said on Monday that security personnel had captured 15 alleged members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) separatist group, under the leadership of Kelly Kwalik, who were responsible for the deadly ambush on a convoy of workers near Timika over the weekend, agencies reported. The OPM has fought for a separate nation in the predominantly Melanesian Papua since the former Dutch colony of Western New Guinea became part of Indonesia in 1964. Kwalik's splinter group has been accused of kidnapping foreigners in the past, but says it has never targeted them in their long struggle to win independence for Papua from Indonesia.
There's a smell of fish about this...
Meanwhile, the vice director of Papuan rights group Elsham, Aloy Renwarin, said Kwalik had denied involvement in the ambush. "They told us through a courier that they have no knowledge of the attack," Renwarin told AFP by telephone from Papua, adding that "They said they don't want violence and are committed to dialog."
Yeah, they always say that, don't they? Especially when they're being rounded up...
The pacifist pro-independence Papua Presidium Council accused the military of trying to discredit the separatists by blaming the attack on OPM. It said the rebel group had never targeted foreigners. "It is becoming more and more evident that the Indonesian security forces are involved in creating provocation and instigating violence," the presidium said in a statement received on Monday. "An attack on foreign nationals and on Freeport and consequently blaming the OPM is on the one hand an effort to discredit the OPM as a terrorist organization and on the other hand a warning to Freeport that it cannot operate without the protection of the Indonesian Army," it said. The presidium expressed "its grave sorrow and sincere regret" and called for an international independent team to investigate the case.
That would be a good idea. If the Indonesians have something to hide they'll start bitching about their national sovreignty any time now.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-09-02
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=6652