Military officers to be linked to Theys' murder
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Internal investigators of the Indonesian Military (TNI) are likely to name several officers as suspects in the murder of Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay last November, a TNI official said.
Without identifying anyone by name, TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said that the military personnel "are close to being named as suspects." He also declined to say the number of officers under investigation.
"There are strong indications that a number of TNI personnel were involved in the murder. They are now undergoing further investigation at the TNI Military Police headquarters -- but please, let's respect the notion of a presumption of innocence," Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told reporters during a break from a seminar by the Indonesian Veterans' Legion (LVRI).
An official close to the investigation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that three officers have been linked to the case.
Sjafrie flatly denied speculation that Theys was slain in a military operation with the full knowledge of TNI headquarters.
With regard to Theys' killing, "We have never issued any policy or ordered an operation," Sjafrie said.
Sjafrie's remarks on military's role in the high-profile case contradicted earlier statements by Insp. Gen. Engkesman Hilep, a member of the government-sanctioned National Investigation Commission (KPN), who said that the team had not yet concluded whether any element of the military was involved in the murder.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday, Engkesman said that "we never said that there were strong indications of military involvement in the case."
Theys, chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council (PDP), was found dead hours after being abducted while heading for home from the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) compound, located on Jl. Hamadi in the provincial capital of Jayapura, to commemorate the National Hero's Day on Nov. 10.
The only known key witness, Aristoteles Masoka, was Theys' driver, who has been missing until now.
Several witnesses, who refused to be identified, told members of the Military and Police fact-finding team examining the case that they saw a man they believed to be Aristoteles arriving at the Kopassus compound through the front door sometime after the murder took place.
The Jayapura Police said that seven members of Kopassus were allegedly involved in the murder. Nevertheless, the police have refused to disclose any motives behind the killing.
Following the fact-finding team's reports, the TNI and the Army headquarters formed an internal investigation team.
Amid mounting calls for the establishment of an independent body to investigate the murder, President Megawati Soekarnoputri signed early in February a decree naming an 11-member team led by Koesparmono Irsan of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
The team, along with other investigation teams, have inspected the Kopassus compound in Hamadi, and excavated at several sites around the headquarters to see if Aristoteles might have been buried there.
The investigation took place just after 40 members of the Kopassus task force stationed there were withdrawn to Jakarta.
In addition, Kopassus chief Maj. Gen. Amirul Isnaeni has offered legal assistance to his troops should they face charges of murdering Theys.