The Wire

A new report looking into the killings of two US civilians and one Indonesian near the Timika Freeport mine in West Papua in 2002 presents strong evidence of involvement by the Indonesian military in the killings. Seven West Papuans were convicted last November for the murders. But University of California academic Eben Kirksey and Indonesian journalist and author Andreas Harsono, are raising concerns about not only the rule of law in Indonesia but also the continued power of the military to act with impunity. They provide fresh insights from Freeport mine employees and human rights workers involved in the case plus new evidence that the Indonesian military may have known about a planned attack near the Freeport mine a year before the deaths. Their views will undoubtedly put pressure on the Indonesian government to reopen the case. This exclusive report by Erica Vowles begins with former US political secretary to the US Embassy in Jakarta, Edmund McWilliams, who now works within the NGO community.