Team again examines Kopassus compound

R.K. Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

Members of a Military Police fact-finding team again examined on Saturday the compound of the Army's Special Force Kopassus, where they unearthed a plot of land that could be hiding the body of Aristoteles Masoka, the missing driver of top Papuan rebel leader Theys Ohio Eluay.

The second inspection after the Feb. 16 examination was aimed at uncovering the mystery shrouding last November's death of Theys, proindependence Papua Presidium Council (PDP) chairman.

However, the team and local security authorities denied that the latest search was meant to find Masoka, feared to have been killed by non-Papuan abductors.

Chief of the Irian Jaya Military Police headquarters Col. Sutarna said the digging was only aimed at finding or verifying accurate data to complete the investigation into Theys' murder.

He also declined to reveal the outcome of the inspection after the team had stripped away more than the top 50 centimeters of a plot of land inside the Kopassus compound, saying the results were being analyzed.

Saturday's field investigation involved at least 24 witnesses, including two local journalists -- Odeo Data and Erni -- who were all questioned by the military team coordinated by Col. Herdardji.

At least one of the witnesses admitted that he once saw a man arriving at the Kopassus compound, located on Jl. Hamadi in the provincial capital, Jayapura, through the front door.

The man was then taken to a room inside the office and later came out through another door beside the compound, supported by another person, the witness added.

"I don't know whether the man was Aristoteles Masoka or not because I did not recognize him. But for sure I saw a man wearing flip-flops coming out of the headquarters," said the witness, who refused to be named.

He had been questioned by the military team as he had been present at the Kopassus compound from 8 p.m. through 12 p.m. on Nov. 10, when Theys was reportedly kidnapped after attending a function to celebrate National Heroes Day there.

During the second field check, the team also retraced Theys' steps at the gathering, starting with his arrival with Masoka, to the point of his departure.

In an effort to facilitate the field check, referred to by the team as a "repositioning" rather than a reconstruction, the local Military Police secured and cleared the Kopassus compound.

The team said the investigation was required to examine whether the witnesses' testimonies correlated with the facts in the field.

Sutarna confirmed that some Kopassus troops, accused of involvement in the murder of Theys, had left Jayapura on Feb. 28 for Jakarta, but said that would not hamper the further investigation.

"If there is a need to investigate Kopassus troops further, the team will send existing dossiers to Jakarta for completion," he said.

Theys' body was discovered on Nov. 11 in his car in an area bordering Papua New Guinea. However, the whereabouts of Masoka remain unclear and many believe he was also murdered.

The two had left the Kopassus compound where they had attended the gathering, and were on their way to Theys' residence in Sentani, 40 kilometers north of Jayapura.

A number of Papuan witnesses have testified to the local police that they had accompanied Masoka to the Kopassus compound after he was thrown from his car on the night Theys was abducted.

Several others saw Masoka at the Kopassus barracks on that night.

It was not clear when the military team would conclude its inquiry, as no deadline had been set.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri has established a separate team led by retired general and current human rights activist Koesparmono Irsan to investigate the same case.

Koesparmono and two other members of the team carried out a three-day preliminary probe last week in Jayapura, where they met only with government, military and police officials, as well as legislators.

Theys' murder has sparked a strong protest from the Papuan people, the local elite and their religious leaders, who have demanded an independent investigation, including representatives of international groups.

Theys, who was also a former legislator of the Golkar Party at the provincial legislature, was respected as an influential tribal chief in the province.