Probe into Theys' death queried

Probe into Theys' death queried

Tiarma Siboro and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Papuans and human rights activists expressed doubt on Wednesday
that the National Investigation Commission set up to probe the
mysterious death of Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay
would reveal the truth behind the murder, saying commission
members would work to protect the interests of the state.

"The commission members would all work for the current
government, and would always protect the government at all costs.
Why would they want to reveal the truth behind the murder of a
man who was fighting for Papua's independence from the Indonesian
government?" Andi Bilimanotai of the Papuan Presidium Council
(PDP) told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"The Papuan general public found the team's members
"disturbing" because it was clear to them that the team had been
formed to uphold the state's interests, not to uphold justice,"
he added.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a decree on Tuesday
setting up an 'independent' investigation team to look into the
mystery surrounding the murder of Theys in November 2001. Despite
strong objection from Papuan leaders and religious leaders there,
Megawati appointed a number of military and police personnel as
well as government officials to the team.

Theys was found dead one day after he was reportedly kidnapped
by unidentified armed men on his way home in Sentani after
attending a function organized by a local unit of the Army's
Special Force (Kopassus).

Investigations by local police and the Army headquarters
concluded that certain elements in the military were behind the
killing. TNI headquarters formed its own investigation team, but
many believe the move was designed to nip in the bud efforts by
any independent team to reveal the killers.

Secretary-general of the National Commission on Human Rights
(Komnas HAM) Asmara Nababan questioned the reasons why Megawati
had ignored demands by Papuan religious leaders not to include
military and police personnel as well as government officials in
the team.

"It must struggle to prove that it will conduct a fair and
impartial investigation even though some of its members were part
of the government system," Asmara told The Post on Wednesday.

Former director of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid
Institute Bambang Widjojanto questioned the credibility of
several members, including the National military police chief
Djasri Marin, Koesparmono Irsan, Engkesman Hillep, and three
local figures.

According to Bambang, the presence of Djasri in the team would
merely steer the case to become a criminal matter rather than a
human rights violation, or at least protect the mastermind of the
killing and put the blame on "a disorganized group of the Army's
Special Force (Kopassus) that killed Theys for the sake of their
own interest".

Bambang further said that the fate of the team would not be
different from the one established in 1999 by then president B.J.
Habibie to investigate the riots in May 1998, as the decree "does
not regulate if the team must disclose its investigation result
to the public, nor is the President obliged to act on it."

Habibie set up a joint team to investigate alleged gross human
rights violations in mass riots in May 1998, but the team failed
to reach a common conclusion due to conflicts of interest between
members coming from the military and police and civilian members.