Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Nine charged in Papua over alleged bombing plot

Posted at 23:11 on 03 October, 2012 UTC

In Indonesia’s Papua province, nine members of the pro-independence West Papua National Committee have been charged with possession of explosive devices.

The Jakarta Post reports they were charged after police allegedly found the bombmaking materials in Committee offices on Saturday.

A police spokesman says a search of the group’s offices in Wamena had uncovered two more bombs and a compact disc on Papuan independence and a Morning Star flag, which is banned.

Police believe they were planning to blow up the military headquarters and police office.

According to police reports, the men were reportedly behind the bombing of a police post and an attack on a government office in Wamena two weeks ago.

The Papua branch of the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy doubts the veracity of the police report, claiming the evidence must have been fabricated by police.