Team again examines Kopassus compound<\/p>\n
R.K. Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura<\/p>\n
Members of a Military Police fact-finding team again examined on
\nSaturday the compound of the Army's Special Force Kopassus, where
\nthey unearthed a plot of land that could be hiding the body of
\nAristoteles Masoka, the missing driver of top Papuan rebel leader
\nTheys Ohio Eluay.<\/p>\n
The second inspection after the Feb. 16 examination was aimed
\nat uncovering the mystery shrouding last November's death of
\nTheys, proindependence Papua Presidium Council (PDP) chairman.<\/p>\n
However, the team and local security authorities denied that
\nthe latest search was meant to find Masoka, feared to have been
\nkilled by non-Papuan abductors.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Irian Jaya Military Police headquarters Col.
\nSutarna said the digging was only aimed at finding or verifying
\naccurate data to complete the investigation into Theys' murder.<\/p>\n
He also declined to reveal the outcome of the inspection after
\nthe team had stripped away more than the top 50 centimeters of a
\nplot of land inside the Kopassus compound, saying the results
\nwere being analyzed.<\/p>\n
Saturday's field investigation involved at least 24 witnesses,
\nincluding two local journalists -- Odeo Data and Erni -- who were
\nall questioned by the military team coordinated by Col.
\nHerdardji.<\/p>\n
At least one of the witnesses admitted that he once saw a man
\narriving at the Kopassus compound, located on Jl. Hamadi in the
\nprovincial capital, Jayapura, through the front door.<\/p>\n
The man was then taken to a room inside the office and later
\ncame out through another door beside the compound, supported by
\nanother person, the witness added.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know whether the man was Aristoteles Masoka or not
\nbecause I did not recognize him. But for sure I saw a man wearing
\nflip-flops coming out of the headquarters,\" said the witness, who
\nrefused to be named.<\/p>\n
He had been questioned by the military team as he had been
\npresent at the Kopassus compound from 8 p.m. through 12 p.m. on
\nNov. 10, when Theys was reportedly kidnapped after attending a
\nfunction to celebrate National Heroes Day there.<\/p>\n
During the second field check, the team also retraced Theys'
\nsteps at the gathering, starting with his arrival with Masoka, to
\nthe point of his departure.<\/p>\n
In an effort to facilitate the field check, referred to by the
\nteam as a \"repositioning\" rather than a reconstruction, the local
\nMilitary Police secured and cleared the Kopassus compound.<\/p>\n
The team said the investigation was required to examine
\nwhether the witnesses' testimonies correlated with the facts in
\nthe field.<\/p>\n
Sutarna confirmed that some Kopassus troops, accused of
\ninvolvement in the murder of Theys, had left Jayapura on Feb. 28
\nfor Jakarta, but said that would not hamper the further
\ninvestigation.<\/p>\n
\"If there is a need to investigate Kopassus troops further,
\nthe team will send existing dossiers to Jakarta for completion,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Theys' body was discovered on Nov. 11 in his car in an area
\nbordering Papua New Guinea. However, the whereabouts of Masoka
\nremain unclear and many believe he was also murdered.<\/p>\n
The two had left the Kopassus compound where they had attended
\nthe gathering, and were on their way to Theys' residence in
\nSentani, 40 kilometers north of Jayapura.<\/p>\n
A number of Papuan witnesses have testified to the local
\npolice that they had accompanied Masoka to the Kopassus compound
\nafter he was thrown from his car on the night Theys was abducted.<\/p>\n
Several others saw Masoka at the Kopassus barracks on that
\nnight.<\/p>\n
It was not clear when the military team would conclude its
\ninquiry, as no deadline had been set.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has established a separate
\nteam led by retired general and current human rights activist
\nKoesparmono Irsan to investigate the same case.<\/p>\n
Koesparmono and two other members of the team carried out a
\nthree-day preliminary probe last week in Jayapura, where they met
\nonly with government, military and police officials, as well as
\nlegislators.<\/p>\n
Theys' murder has sparked a strong protest from the Papuan
\npeople, the local elite and their religious leaders, who have
\ndemanded an independent investigation, including representatives
\nof international groups.<\/p>\n
Theys, who was also a former legislator of the Golkar Party at
\nthe provincial legislature, was respected as an influential
\ntribal chief in the province.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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