Government team on Theys' murder nowhere to be seen

Government team on Theys' murder nowhere to be seen

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

All plans to conduct an investigation into the Nov. 11 murder
of Papuan independence activist Theys Hiyo Eluway were clouded in
uncertainty on Tuesday.

The joint military-police team that the central government
said had been set up last week was nowhere to be seen.

Irian Jaya's religious leaders made a joint statement making
it clear that they flatly rejected the monitoring team formed by
the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). They
insisted that what was needed was an independent investigation
team.

The religious leaders were the first to call for Komnas HAM to
form an independent team, free from police or military
intervention who are widely suspected of being involved in the
murder.

At the House of Representatives, a group from the Papuan
Presidium Council demanded that the legislative body set up its
own independent investigation team.

The statement that probably raised the most eyebrows came from
Trikora Military commander Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon, whose area
of jurisdiction covers Irian Jaya. He claims that he had not
heard of the team that the government formed last week.

"What joint team?" he retorted when journalists asked him how
the team was doing. Simbolon was at the Army Headquarters in
Jakarta on Tuesday.

The formation of a joint military-police team was announced by
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono last week. The decision was made in a
coordinating meeting on security and political affairs.

The move was intended to show that the authorities were
serious about looking into speculations that the military was
behind Theys' murder.

It turned out that Mahidin had set up his own investigation
team. The result so far is that "there were no military personnel
involved in the incident," he said.

"I also support the police's efforts to investigate the case
in an objective way," Mahidin said.

Papuan Presidium Council (PDP) activists set a deadline of
Dec. 10 for the National Police to announce the results of their
investigation into the case, otherwise they will reject efforts
to seek a peaceful solution to the rising separatism in the
province.

"If they miss the deadline, we won't trust the government any
longer," Tom Beanal, deputy chairman of the PDP, told House
Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

Accompanying him were PDP secretary-general Thaha Mohammad
Alhamid and PDP member Yorris Raweyai.

"Only if the results of the investigation are disclosed, we
will be willing to continue the talks on Papuan autonomy and its
implementation," Tom added.

The PDP delegation also called on the House to form a special
committee to investigate the murder or to facilitate the setting
up of an independent team to probe the murder.

"The investigation should be carried out by the authorities in
Irian Jaya instead of setting up another kind of inquiry team,"
Tom said, contrary to the demands of other members of the PDP
delegation.

Responding to the delegation's demand, Akbar simply said that
the House gave "serious attention" to the murder, adding that
dialog would be necessary to solve the separatist problem.

Although investigation by the local joint team is still in
progress, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar told the House
that no military personnel were involved in the murder.

Irian Jaya Police chief Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika who
was also present at the hearing said that the police had
questioned 47 people as witnesses and none had been named as a
suspect.