Religious leaders demand independent probe on Theys' alleged murder<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Religious leaders in Irian Jaya demanded on Monday that the
\nNational Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) conduct an
\nthorough and objective investigation into the death of
\nindependence activist Theys Hiyo Eluay.<\/p>\n
In a letter sent to Komnas HAM, a copy of which was made
\navailable to The Jakarta Post, they said that the local people
\nhad lost trust in the police and military and so they would rely
\non the commission for the investigation.<\/p>\n
\"The independent team should investigate possible involvement
\nof all parties we believe had abducted and then murdered the
\nchief of the Papua Presidium Council,\" the statement said.<\/p>\n
The petition was signed by Rev. Herman Saud, Chairman of the
\nPapua Indonesian Christian Church Synod; Mgr. Leo Laba Ladjar,
\nthe Jayapura Bishop; Zubeir D. Hussein, chief of the Irian Jaya
\nMuslim Ulema Council; and Rev. John Gobay, chairman of the
\nEastern Indonesian Christian Churches Synod.<\/p>\n
Theys was found dead on Nov. 18 near the capital Jayapura
\nclose to the Irian Jaya-Papua New Guinea border. He was well-
\nknown for his non-violent approach to achieve his goals, in
\naddition to most recently, his rejection of the special autonomy
\nstatus for Irian Jaya that will be effective as of January next
\nyear.<\/p>\n
The religious leaders said that they did not want to see any
\nelements of the police and military involved in the independent
\ninvestigation team.<\/p>\n
They also reported that witnesses of the murder were being
\nthreatened and did not dare to speak the truth to the police or
\nmilitary.<\/p>\n
\"We have asked the National Police chief to guarantee the
\nwitnesses' safety,\" they said in the statement. \"The revelation
\nof Theys' death will become a yard stick for the government's
\nrespect for the rights and dignity of Irian people.\"<\/p>\n
Suspicion is rife about the involvement of the military in the
\nmurder which has sparked anger among Irian people and human
\nrights activists elsewhere.<\/p>\n
The commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence
\n(Kontras) in Jakarta has openly accused the government of being
\nbehind the murder.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) Maj. Gen. Amirul
\nIsnaini denied on Monday any involvement. He added that Kopassus
\nwould only carry out orders from the military commander.<\/p>\n
\"The military chief had never ordered the murder. As an
\ninstitution, we know nothing about the murder,\" Amirul claimed
\nafter entertaining the Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil at
\nthe Kopassus headquarters in Cijantung, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Isnaini charged that Komnas HAM and Kontras' allegations that
\nKopassus had a hand in the affair was baseless.<\/p>\n
\"We (the Kopassus) are such a big organization. Accusing us
\nwithout any evidence would only be counter productive,\" he warned
\nominously.<\/p>\n
When asked whether Kopassus was involved in clandestine
\noperations in Papua, Amirul said: \"I'm not in a position to tell
\nyou about any operations there.\"<\/p>\n
Last week, Kontras pointed a finger at Kopassus after
\ndisclosing its findings of secret documents it claimed were
\nprepared by the government at the Home Affairs Ministry on June 8
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
According to Kontras, the Matoa Document, as the paper was
\nlater called, provided a guidelines for an operation targeting
\npro-independence activists. The meeting, according to Kontras was
\nattended by senior government and military leaders.<\/p>\n
Ermaya Suradinata, the former director general for National
\nIntegrity and People's Protection who hosted the meeting,
\nconfirmed that the gathering did take place but he denied
\nKontras' claims that the elite army group had planned
\nassassination operations against Irian activists.<\/p>\n
\"It was true we discussed independence activism but we did not
\nspecifically mention names,\" he said. \"We submitted the minutes
\nto the (Home Affairs) ministry and it wasn't followed up.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/religious-leaders-demand-independent-probe-on-theys-alleged-murder-1447893297",
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