Papua separatist charged fro Freeport killing incident

A reputed member of an Indonesian separatist group has been charged with murder for the 2002 ambush of a group of American schoolteachers that left two dead in the compound of copper and gold miner PT. Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) in the province of Papua, U.S. prosecutors were quoted by agencies as saying Thursday.

A grand jury indictment charges Anthonius Wamang, 32, with two counts of murder, eight counts of attempted murder and other related offenses. Wamang, who remains at large, could face the death penalty if convicted.

The Justice Department said the indictment against Anthonius Wamang was the result of a joint U.S.-Indonesian investigation.

Wamang is a Papuan separatist and operational commander of the "Free Papua Movement," and the group's military arm, the "National Freedom Force."

Wamang is named on a number of charges, including two counts of murder of U.S. citizens outside the United States.

In a statement, Attorney General John Ashcroft said the U.S. government "is committed to tracking down and prosecuting terrorists ... in Indonesia and around the world."

According to court documents, on Aug. 31, 2002, nine schoolteachers and a 6-year-old child were returning from a picnic near the town of Tembagapura when their two sport utility vehicles came under heavy gunfire at a bend in the road.

Killed in the attack were two US citizens and an Indonesian.

The victims were all contract employees of the Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Mine Inc., which operates the one of largest gold and copper mines in the world through its subsidiary PTFI.

There has been some suspicion that members of the Indonesian military were involved in the attack. FBI Assistant Director Michael A. Mason, head of the bureau's Washington field office, said the Indonesian government permitted agents to interview soldiers as part of the probe.

"At this point, the evidence does not indicate participation of the Indonesian military in these attacks," said Kenneth Wainstein, the U.S. attorney for Washington whose office is prosecuting the case.

Wamang is described in court papers as an operational commander of the military arm of the Free Papua Movement, which seeks a state independent of Indonesia. FBI and Indonesian National Police investigators are continuing to gather evidence on others who were involved in the attack.(*)