Police urged to pursue witnesses of Theys' driver<\/p>\n
R.K. Nugroho
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJayapura<\/p>\n
The proindependence Papuan Presidium Council (PDP) called on
\nthe police to focus on anybody who saw or had helped Aristoteles
\nMasako, the driver of the late Theys Hiyo Eluway, in their
\nongoing investigation of the late PDP chairman's mysterious
\ndeath.<\/p>\n
PDP Secretary General Thaha Al-Hamid said it was the
\nresponsibility of the local police to search for Aristoteles to
\nhelp them investigate the murder case.<\/p>\n
The police should cross-examine all witnesses to know who
\nshould be held responsible for Aristoteles's whereabouts, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Thaha conceded that he had gained reliable information on
\nAristoteles from six people who had helped him after he was
\ndumped by the side of the road in Skilin Entrop, Jayapura just
\nmoments after Theys was abducted on Nov. 10, 2001.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sure that the information given by these six individuals
\nis valid. They should be held as key witnesses,\" he said here on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
He added that he had gained the information before the six
\nwere recently summoned by police and delegates of the National
\nCommission of Human Rights.<\/p>\n
Thaha refused to reveal the information he gained from the
\nsix.<\/p>\n
One of the six witnesses admitted they had helped Aristoteles
\ngo to the Army's special force unit compound in Hamadi.<\/p>\n
\"He (Aristoteles) looked frightened when we found him, after
\nhe had been dumped at the side of the road. He asked us to bring
\nhim with us to Hamadi, which we did. However, we waited for
\nAristoteles for an hour, while he was supposed to be reporting
\nthe abduction to the authorities, but he failed to come out of
\nthe compound,\" said one witness, who requested anonymity.<\/p>\n
Speculation is rife about Aristoteles' whereabouts. One such
\nproposition is that he might have been abducted by the Free Papua
\nMovement (OPM), which opposes PDP's peaceful struggle and the
\nlocal military.<\/p>\n
He ruled out the hypothesis that the OPM were behind the
\nabduction and murder because the Papuan people, including the OPM
\nrebels, never killed their own people.<\/p>\n
Both the Papua Presidium Council (PDP) and Aristoteles' family
\nwant him to testify to the court on who were behind Theys'
\nabduction and killing.<\/p>\n
\"He is a kind and polite son. We want to find him, dead or
\nalive,\" Dorsila Ayomi, Aristoteles' mother recalled.<\/p>\n
She said he was working for Theys in order to save up enough
\nmoney to study at the Jayapura Institute of Technology. She
\nclaims she has no idea of her son's whereabouts.<\/p>\n
PDP has demanded the government set up an independent
\ninvestigation, involving foreign bodies, into the case to let the
\nPapuan people know exactly who were behind the killing. It also
\nexpressed regret that the difference of opinion has always been
\nhandled with violence, which it believed would not resolve the
\nPapuan issue.<\/p>\n
The six have given their testimony to the local police and
\ndelegates of the National Commission of Human Rights but so far
\nno follow-up action has been taken.<\/p>\n
Aristoteles met the six after he was dumped in Skilin Entrop
\nin Jayapura while Theys, along with his Kijang van, were driven
\naway by his abductors. Theys was found dead inside his car in the
\nborder area between the province and Papua New Guinea on Nov. 11,
\n2001.<\/p>\n
Besides summoning the six, the police have also grilled three
\nPapuan witnesses who saw Aristoteles at the Army's special force
\nunit compound moments after Theys was abducted.<\/p>\n
Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika, chief of the provincial
\npolice, has offered a new Kijang van as a reward for anybody who
\ncould find Aristoteles.<\/p>\n
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto denied on
\nWednesday that the military was involved in Theys' death, saying
\nhe would take severe disciplinary action if his subordinates were
\nfound guilty of involvement in the case.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-urged-to-pursue-witnesses-of-theys-driver-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}