Government-backed team on Theys officially established

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.