Religious leaders demand independent probe on Theys' alleged murder
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Religious leaders in Irian Jaya demanded on Monday that the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) conduct an thorough and objective investigation into the death of independence activist Theys Hiyo Eluay.
In a letter sent to Komnas HAM, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post, they said that the local people had lost trust in the police and military and so they would rely on the commission for the investigation.
"The independent team should investigate possible involvement of all parties we believe had abducted and then murdered the chief of the Papua Presidium Council," the statement said.
The petition was signed by Rev. Herman Saud, Chairman of the Papua Indonesian Christian Church Synod; Mgr. Leo Laba Ladjar, the Jayapura Bishop; Zubeir D. Hussein, chief of the Irian Jaya Muslim Ulema Council; and Rev. John Gobay, chairman of the Eastern Indonesian Christian Churches Synod.
Theys was found dead on Nov. 18 near the capital Jayapura close to the Irian Jaya-Papua New Guinea border. He was well- known for his non-violent approach to achieve his goals, in addition to most recently, his rejection of the special autonomy status for Irian Jaya that will be effective as of January next year.
The religious leaders said that they did not want to see any elements of the police and military involved in the independent investigation team.
They also reported that witnesses of the murder were being threatened and did not dare to speak the truth to the police or military.
"We have asked the National Police chief to guarantee the witnesses' safety," they said in the statement. "The revelation of Theys' death will become a yard stick for the government's respect for the rights and dignity of Irian people."
Suspicion is rife about the involvement of the military in the murder which has sparked anger among Irian people and human rights activists elsewhere.
The commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in Jakarta has openly accused the government of being behind the murder.
Chief of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) Maj. Gen. Amirul Isnaini denied on Monday any involvement. He added that Kopassus would only carry out orders from the military commander.
"The military chief had never ordered the murder. As an institution, we know nothing about the murder," Amirul claimed after entertaining the Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil at the Kopassus headquarters in Cijantung, East Jakarta.
Isnaini charged that Komnas HAM and Kontras' allegations that Kopassus had a hand in the affair was baseless.
"We (the Kopassus) are such a big organization. Accusing us without any evidence would only be counter productive," he warned ominously.
When asked whether Kopassus was involved in clandestine operations in Papua, Amirul said: "I'm not in a position to tell you about any operations there."
Last week, Kontras pointed a finger at Kopassus after disclosing its findings of secret documents it claimed were prepared by the government at the Home Affairs Ministry on June 8 last year.
According to Kontras, the Matoa Document, as the paper was later called, provided a guidelines for an operation targeting pro-independence activists. The meeting, according to Kontras was attended by senior government and military leaders.
Ermaya Suradinata, the former director general for National Integrity and People's Protection who hosted the meeting, confirmed that the gathering did take place but he denied Kontras' claims that the elite army group had planned assassination operations against Irian activists.
"It was true we discussed independence activism but we did not specifically mention names," he said. "We submitted the minutes to the (Home Affairs) ministry and it wasn't followed up."