Papuan quits

Papuan quits
as member of
inquiry team
into Theys

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

The government received a slap in the face when a civilian member
of a government-appointed team investigating the murder of Papua
independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay announced plans to resign,
along with a report indicating that another resignation may be on
the way.

Reports of the two resignations were made public on Tuesday
amid mounting pressure from non-governmental organizations and
church groups in Indonesia's easternmost province for the
disbandment of the team in favor of an independent inquiry.

On Feb. 5, President Megawati Soekarnoputri approved the team
that included an army general, a chief detective from the
National Police, and other government officials, along with four
Papuan figures.

The two members in question are local Papuans.

"I have written a resignation letter to President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, as she was the one to issue the decree" forming
the team, Lukas Karl Degey, one of six civilians in the 11-member
team, said as quoted by AFP.

Degey, a legislator from Megawati's Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle, said that health reasons were the main cause.

But he was quick to add that he has "neither experience nor
competence as an investigator," noting that "investigation is the
work of police and prosecutors, and not a civilian like me."

Degey told AFP that he has yet to receive a reply to his
letter.

A second legislator and team member, Simon Patrice Morin, was
quoted by the Detikcom online news service as saying that he,
too, wants to quit.

He could not be reached for confirmation, however.

Morin was quoted as saying that he saw no point in the team's
existence. "What we need is a commitment from Megawati to use her
powers to act on the findings of the police."

The team originally comprised of five government officials --
including officials from the national police and the military --
and six civilians.

Many people in Papua, including the police chief, the governor
and human rights activists, have said that there were indications
that Kopassus special forces members played a role in the murder.

And army chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has said that
eyewitness testimony has indicated Kopassus involvement.

But local police said that, after questioning at least seven
Kopassus members, they hit a dead end in their investigation.

Theys, a charismatic Papuan leader from the separatist Papua
Presidium Council (PDP), was found dead in his car in an area
bordering Papua, New Guinea on Nov. 11, a day after he was
reported kidnapped by an unidentified group of men.

He had been abducted the previous evening by the men as he
drove home from a celebration hosted by the Kopassus unit in the
provincial capital of Jayapura.

A low-level but sustained armed rebellion against Jakarta's
rule began in Irian Jaya after the Dutch ceded control of the
territory to Indonesia in 1963.