Government-backed team on Theys officially established
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Amid mounting calls for an independent team to investigate the killing of Papuan proindependence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay, President Megawati Sukarnoputri signed a decree on Tuesday, approving a team, whose members include an army general, a National Police chief detective and government officials.
The 11-member team is led by Koesparmono Irsan, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and also a retired police general.
State Minister for Communications and Information Syamsul Mu'arif said that the team would be responsible to, and report only to, the President.
"The team will also coordinate with the separate investigations led by the police and the military respectively, which have already conducted an inquiry into the case," Syamsul said. He was speaking at a joint media conference with National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, after holding a special meeting on political and security affairs in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Theys, a charismatic Papuan leader, was found dead inside his car in an area bordering Papua New Guinea on Nov. 11, 2001, a day after he was reportedly kidnapped by unidentified assailants.
Theys, chairman of the proindependence Papuan Presidium Council (PDP), was abducted only a quarter of an hour after he, along with his driver Aristoteles Masoka, returned from attending Heroes Day celebrations at the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) compound in Hammadi, Jayapura, on Nov. 10, 2001.
Local religious leaders and Papuan activists have called on the government for an independent team to investigate the killing of Theys, taking into consideration that there might be a political motive behind the incident. The demand was also due to their belief that members of Kopassus may have had a role in the killing.
Last week, both Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto admitted the possible involvement of military personnel in the murder.
Irian Jaya Police chief Insp. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika said earlier that the murder investigation had stalled, pending the arrival of an independent team of investigators.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International, which was previously expected to conduct investigations into several cases in Papua, including Theys' killing, confirmed that its delegation had left the province several days earlier than planned, in response to a request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Amnesty International always works openly with the permission of the government. Central and provincial officials were informed of the organization's intention to visit Papua in advance of the delegation's arrival.
"Amnesty International regrets any misunderstanding about the purpose of the delegation's presence in Papua, which was intended to further the organization's understanding of a broad range of human rights issues through dialogue with concerned parties. The human rights situation in Papua remains of deep concern to Amnesty International and the organization will continue its work to promote human rights in the province and elsewhere in Indonesia," it said in a press release issued on Feb. 1.