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.