Jakarta – A gang of unidentified men raided the Jakarta office of the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy for West Papua (Els-Ham Papua Barat), a Papuan human rights group that has accused the military of involvement in an ambush that killed two Americans, its coordinator said here on Monday.
Alberth Rumbekwan, Jakarta coordinator of Els-Ham Papua Barat, told AFP that the men broke down the fence and seized documents, describing the men as having "military characteristics". A spokesman for the Indonesian Armed Forces denied all knowledge of the incident. During the raid, the men seized documents and computer diskettes containing Els-Ham reports on the August ambush that killed two Americans and an Indonesian in Timika, near the giant Freeport mine in Papua. They also seized Els-Ham reports on the murder last November of Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay. Rumbekwan added that none of the information was confidential and had already been made public.
Els-Ham alleges that soldiers from the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) were implicated in the August Freeport killings, which also wounded 12 other mine employees, most of them American. Army officials previously blamed the ambush on Kelly Kwalik, leader of a poorly armed and disorganized separatist army. Kwalik denies involvement.
In the Eluay case, the military has said seven Kopassus soldiers would soon face a court-martial for alleged involvement in his death, which Els-Ham has called a crime by the state.
The brief raid at Els-Ham's office occurred on October 11, but Rumbekwan said he was only able to notify AFP on Monday about the incident. "They were looking for me," said Rumbekwan, who was not in the office at the time. He said he was now under surveillance and planned to return to Papua. Three other Els-Ham employees hid in a bathroom during the raid, he said.
A spokesman for the Indonesian Military (TNI) denied any involvement in the raid at Els-Ham's office, which is located in a house in a quiet South Jakarta neighborhood. "TNI doesn't carry out security operations like this," said Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki. "I didn't hear about an intelligence operation like that." Rumbekwan said he reported the case to South Jakarta Police. After Els-Ham released its report on the Freeport ambush the TNI chief threatened to sue the group for libel.