Farouk Arnaz, Christian Motte & April Aswadi – Autopsy results show that the victims of the weekend killings near Timika in Papua were shot with 5.56-millimeter caliber weapons. But a police investigator said on Monday that this information would not help determine who the perpetrators might be.

The 5.56-mm bullets, of which remnants were found in the victims' bodies, are used in M-16, SS-1, Steyr and AK-47 long-barrel weapons, which are issued to the military and police.

However, Brig. Gen. Budiono, the head of the police forensic unit, told the Jakarta Globe that no material evidence that may help narrow down the type of weapon had been recoverd from the crime scenes. "We do not know what gun they used," he said.

"My subordinates are still collecting the necessary evidence like projectiles and cartridges to conduct ballistic examinations. This only takes a week, if everything is complete."

Not even the kind of ammunition used will help narrow down the investigation as members of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) are believed to have weapons seized from police or the military since 2003.

In January, an OPM member seized at least four SS-1 rifles and 61 bullets at Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya, from the police. In December 2006, the OPM took an AK-47 and 75 bullets from a police officer in Mulia, Puncak Jaya.

"The investigation is still ongoing," Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Bagus Ekodanto said on Monday. "No one [has claimed] responsibility for this incident."

Widodo AS, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, reiterated that a presidential regulation issued in 2004 stated that it was the duty of the police to secure vital locations, including the Freeport mine.

However, as stated in the regulation, the police could seek assistance from the military if police deemed it necessary.