Komnas HAM questions three witnesses over Theys' death

Komnas HAM questions three witnesses over Theys' death

R.K. Nugroho
The Jakarta Post
Jayapura

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has
questioned three key witnesses whom it was hoped could shed light
on the mysterious death of Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo
Eluay.

Bambang W. Suharto and Kusparmono Irsan, members of the
commission's fact-finding team that was sent on Tuesday to the
Irian Jaya capital, focussed their questioning on Theys' driver,
Aristoteles Masoka, who has been missing since the discovery of
Theys' body on Nov. 11, 2001.

The witnesses, whose identities were not revealed for security
reasons, were questioned at the Irian Jaya Police Headquarters in
Jayapura.

"At first, the witnesses claimed that they knew nothing about
Aristoteles' whereabouts. But then they said they recognized him
when we showed them the driver's picture," said a police officer
who joined the questioning on Wednesday.

"They confirmed that the man in the photograph was
Aristoteles, whom they saw on the evening of Nov. 11 in the
Hamadi area of Jayapura."

Theys, until his death the chairman of the proindependence
Papuan Presidium Council (PDP), was found dead on Nov. 11 in his
car in Muara Tami district southwest of Jayapura.

Theys had reportedly been kidnapped by a group of people on
his way home to Sentani after attending a dinner at the Army's
elite Special Forces (Kopassus) headquarters in Jayapura to
observe National Heroes' Day on Nov. 10.

Aristoteles is the most important witness being sought to help
solve the mystery surrounding Theys death. He is the man who
reported Theys' kidnapping to his family on Nov. 10 and he is the
man who is believed to have been with the victim up until the
time of his death.

Bambang and Kusparmono met with Irian Jaya Governor Jaap
Salosa, the provincial legislative assembly speaker, Irian Jaya
Police chief Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika and Jayapura Police
chief Daud J. Sihombing.

Bambang told The Jakarta Post that he was determined to solve
the case to prevent it from setting a bad precedent for the
future, especially as the case had received international
attention.

"We hope to gather as many clues as possible to solve the
case. We will then analyze all the clues so as to find who was
responsible for the murder," he said.

"First, we will utilize the information gathered by the Irian
Jaya Police. But we will also conduct our own investigation so as
to uncover additional information."

Separately, Jayapura's Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) expressed
its pessimism over the team's effort, saying it would not do any
good in solving the case.

"The commission does not have credibility in investigating
cases of human rights violations in Irian Jaya," foundation
chairman Demianus Wakman told the Post.

"The commission failed to solve any of the violations it
investigated in Irian Jaya before."

Demianus pointed to a number of alleged human rights
violations in Irian Jaya that the commission had investigated but
to no avail.

"So if they have failed to uncover previous cases, it is just
understandable if the locals doubt their credibility in probing
They's murder," he said.

Bambang said it did not really matter if LBH Jayapura rejected
the investigating team's presence.

"We will continue to do our job and uncover all the facts
without their help," he said bluntly.