PAPUA -- GOI INVESTIGATES RECENT BOMBINGS; ARRESTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001817 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/ANP, DRL, DRL/AWH, S/CT NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2018 TAGS: PGOV PINS PREL ID AS SUBJECT: PAPUA -- GOI INVESTIGATES RECENT BOMBINGS; ARRESTS MADE FOR WAVING BANNED FLAG REF: A. JAKARTA 1746 ¶B. JAKARTA 1522 AND PREVIOUS JAKARTA 00001817 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4 (b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Authorities continue to investigate a series of small bombings on the premises of an American-owned mining company in Papua, eastern Indonesia. No clear explanation for the bombings--which caused no injuries and little damage--has yet emerged. Also in Papua, police have arrested 18 individuals for raising a separatist-linked flag during a recent protest. Finally, two Papuans who were involved in a 2006 political asylum claim that roiled relations between Australia and Indonesia have returned to Papua. END SUMMARY. INVESTIGATION CONTINUES INTO TIMIKA BOMBINGS ¶2. (SBU) Police continue to investigate the September 12-14 series of bombings at the facilities of U.S. mining company Freeport-McMoRan in Timika, Papua. Police officials initially announced that they had identified two suspects in the bombings but later backed off from that claim. (Note: The bombs, which were primitive, caused no damage or injury. See ref A.) ¶3. (C) Although there have been no further bombings, the situation in Timika remains a bit tense. Freeport official Daniel Bowman told poloff on September 25 that someone had tried to ignite a container of gasoline with a gasoline-soaked rag. The attempt failed, however. Freeport security officials remain on a heightened state of alert. ¶4. (C) Freeport officials are pleased with the efforts of Indonesia's special anti-terror unit Detachment-88 (Det-88), which is leading the investigation. Bowman told poloff that Det-88 is conducting "a professional and thorough investigation" into the attacks. ¶5. (C) So far, no plausible explanation for the bombings has emerged. A Papuan separatist group, the Free Papua Movement (OPM),claimed responsibility, but this has not been verified. A number of officials familiar with the investigation suspect it is connected to efforts by the police to move some of the 20,000 illegal miners who operate in the area. Bowman, who leads Freeport's efforts to move the miners, said this explanation was plausible but could not be confirmed. (Note: The illegal miners pan for gold in Freeport's tailings--the crushed rock that is a byproduct of the mine's operations. Freeport has pressed the police to move the illegal miners away from the mine area after 19 of them were killed in a landslide.) MORE FLAG RAISING ARRESTS ¶6. (SBU) Also in Timika, police arrested 18 individuals for raising the banned "Morning Star" flag during a peaceful September 23 rally. There is no evidence to suggest that this incident was in any way connected to the bombings. (Note: The Indonesian government considers the flag a separatist symbol while Papuans claim it represents their regional and cultural identity.) ¶7. (SBU) Timika district police chief Godhelp Mansnembra said authorities were still investigating the situation, asserting that other individuals may have been involved in the incident. Mansnembra also announced that police had found a number of traditional weapons, including spears, bows and arrows, in the house of one of those arrested. (Note: The presence of such weapons, which many Papuan men own, does not necessarily indicate that the individuals detained were planning any violent acts.) JAKARTA 00001817 002.2 OF 002 ¶8. (C) This is the latest in a series of arrests for flag raising in Papua (ref B). Timika authorities have not yet announced charges against those detained. In other cases, however, prosecutors have charged flag raisers with sedition and asked for sentences of 20-30 years in prison. Papuan contacts have told us that the flag raising protests stem from continued frustration over the slow implementation of the province's Special Autonomy Law. It is also a reaction to central government efforts to crack down on the use of regional symbols that have separatist associations. ASYLUM SEEKERS RETURN ¶9. (SBU) Two Papuans--Hana Gobay and Yubel Kareni--who sailed to Australia and claimed political asylum in 2006--returned to the province on September 24. (Note: The two were part of a group of 43 Papuans who claimed political asylum in Australia in January 2006. The incident caused a serious rift in Australia-Indonesian relations with Jakarta temporarily recalling its ambassador over the issue.) Gobay told reporters that Herman Wanggai, the Papuan activist who organized the 2006 asylum trip, had promised economic and educational opportunities in Australia that never materialized. ¶10. (C) The two decided to leave Australia and go back to Papua for personal reasons, according to Paula Makabory, a Papuan activists in Australia who knows both Gobay and Kareni. She told poloff that the two were homesick and missed their families. She said a few other asylum seekers were considering returning to Indonesia but no others had yet decided to do so. HUME