Rights body to probe Theys' death

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says it will set up an independent team to investigate the alleged murder of proindependence Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay if the investigation carried out by the police fails to satisfy the public at large.

"Komnas HAM will certainly set up an independent investigating team as it is almost certain that the police investigation into the case will not (satisfy the public)," Komnas HAM member Albert Hasibuan told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He stressed, however, that such an independent team would only be set up after the police announced the results of their investigation.

According to Albert, the findings of the police investigation will be received negatively by the public since the police authorities had announced their conclusion that Theys was murdered by proindependence hard-liners even before the investigation had been completed.

"A statement by a police officer in Papua province that Theys was killed as the result of an internal conflict in the proindependence movement has resulted in doubts about the seriousness of the police investigation," he said.

Religious leaders from Papua province called on the rights body on Monday to set up an independent investigation to look into Theys' death, arguing that Papuans had already lost trust in the Indonesian police and military.

Theys, the chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council (PDP), was found dead on Nov. 11 near the capital of Jayapura close to the Papua province-Papua New Guinea border. He was kidnapped on his way home from a dinner with security officials in Jayapura.

He said the rights body had already set up a monitoring team that would conduct a preliminary investigation into the case.

The members of the monitoring team included Bambang W. Soeharto, Koesparmono Irsan, and Sjamsuddin, all Komnas HAM members, and they would become the core members of the planned independent investigating team, he said.

"Members of the monitoring team will soon go to Papua to conduct a preliminary investigation. They will meet with public figures as well as police officials to collect as much information as they can," he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda expressed doubts on Tuesday that the effort by proindependence leader Tom Beanal to bring Theys' death to the attention of the United Nations would gain support in the world body.

"When I was in New York from Nov. 15 through Nov. 20, many foreign ministers asked me about the murder, but most of them just made flat statements," he told journalists.