Military sends own team to probe Theys' murder

Military sends own team to probe Theys' murder

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The investigation into the killing of Papuan pro-independence
leader Theys Hiyo Eluay is likely to end in the same way as other
similar murder cases have ended in the past: Low-level military
personnel will be brought to court, but the trial process will
fail to reveal those behind the killings.

On Thursday, Indonesian Military (TNI) Headquarters decided to
send an investigative team of Military Police personnel to
inquire into Theys' murder, arguing that an investigation by the
Military Police would be legally binding and could lead to
military personnel being charged as suspects in the killing.

The decision was announced just one day after the government
floated the idea of issuing a decree establishing an independent
commission, whose members would include military and police
personnel, as well as government officials.

According to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, the
team, which has still to decide when it will depart for Papua,
will follow up on the results of the preliminary investigation
carried out by an Army investigative team, which had concluded
that "there are strong indications that elements of the military
were involved in the murder."

"The Army's investigative team has no authority to declare
anyone a suspect as they were only there to gather data,
documents, and other information connected with the murder. Thus
far, they (the Army team) have conclude that military elements
were involved in the incident, but we cannot declare them as
suspects pending further investigation by the Military Police
team," Endriartono said.

Theys, the chairman of the proindependence Papua Presidium
Council (PDP), was found dead in his car in Koya Tengah Village,
near the provincial capital Jayapura, a day after he and his
driver Aristoteles Masoka were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen.

Many believe that Theys was killed by members of the Army's
Special Forces (Kopassus), as he reportedly had attended a
Heroes' Day celebration with a Kopassus unit stationed in Hamadi
subdistrict, Jayapura, on the night of his death.

The Irian Jaya Police have also revealed that Kopassus
soldiers were involved in the murder, but they were unable to
carry out further investigations into the case as military
personnel do not come under police jurisdiction.

By law, military personnel allegedly involved in a criminal
case are investigated by the Military Police. Many, however, have
criticized the system because they see it as providing the
military with impunity. In the past, many similar Military Police
investigations ended up in foot soldiers and low-ranking officers
being made scapegoats, while their superiors got off scot-free.

Commenting on the establishment of investigative teams by the
government, the Army, and the TNI, PDP Secretary-General Thaha Al
Hamid said that any conclusion reached by the teams would not
impress the Papuan people as "there is too much politicking
behind the moves."

Thaha further questioned why the government and military
institutions were busy setting up investigative teams, all of
which were already "perceived as not being independent."

"The Police were on the right track with their investigation
into Pak Theys' murder. By law, the police are vested with the
ultimate authority to investigate murder cases. If the government
is serious about handling Theys' case, why does it not give more
power to them (the police) instead of establishing these partial
and biased teams?," Thaha told reporters on the sidelines of a
seminar on Papua here.

He also expressed pessimism that the teams could bring the
masterminds behind the murder to justice.