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.