Tony Eastley: It's been a weekend of deadly violence in the troubled Indonesian province of Papua.
On Saturday, a Melbourne man, Drew Grant, was shot to death and yesterday a security guard was killed in the same area. And several members of a police anti-terrorism squad investigating the Australian's murder were injured.
Australian Federal Police are now in Papua assisting the investigation; Jakarta correspondent Geoff Thompson reports.
Geoff Thompson: Drew Grant was a new young father to be reunited in Papua next week with his wife Lauren and their nine-week-old baby Ella, who were due to travel to Melbourne to join him.
Instead the 29-year-old is dead killed by up to five bullets fired from 25 metres away, or the surrounding hills, and with weapons normally used by the Indonesian military or police.
Yesterday another attack was launched near the site of the original murder. At least one Freeport mine security guard was killed, and up to five others were injured. They include two police officers from the Densus 88 anti-terrorism unit, which was established after the Bali bombings with Australia support.
Some police say they still do not know whether the attacks were the work of OPM Papuan separatist rebels or not. But others have been quoted saying the OPM are the main suspects in the attacks.
Victor Yeimo, the chairman of the West Papua National Committee, which is closely aligned with the rebels, says that there were OPM operations going on in the area where the deaths occurred.
"Yes, in the area where Drew was," he told AM. "It's clear that OPM did an attack in that area, according to the information I've received from them. But it's unclear whether they hit Drew's car or not because that was not the only place where they did the attacks. They attacked in other places too, but far from Drew's car; so it's not clear whether the shots could hit Drew or not," he said.
But an Australian source from within Freeport who has worked with security services at the mine, and wishes to remain anonymous, has told AM that he suspects some degree of military or police involvement in the weekend's violence.
He does not offer any evidence for the allegation other than to point out that the security role at the mine of Indonesia's mobile police brigade known as Brimob, is under threat, as the company is considering replacing them with private security contractors. Before Brimob the Indonesian military guarded the mine.
The Freeport source argues that because Indonesian military forces make money directly and indirectly from one of the world's biggest reserves of gold and copper it is in their interest to create the sort of security that necessitates their presence.
Dr Eben Kirksey is a cultural anthropologist with the University of California who extensively investigated the ambush shooting deaths of two American teachers in the mines area of operations in Timika in 2002. A Papuan man name Anthonius Wamang was sentenced to life in prison for the attack. But Dr Kirksey is among those in and outside of Papua who still suspects Indonesian military involvement.
He says that whilst it's too early to assess the latest violence, he thinks there are parallels with 2002 and lessons to be learned for Australian Federal Police investigators now on the ground in Papua.
Eben Kirksey: I think the Australian labs have the right to analyse these ballistics evidence. There is a precedent with the Timika case. Eventually the bullets and everything else was taken to Quantico Virginia and analysed there. So I think Australia has every right to push right now before the trail gets cold, for all these things.