Team again examines Kopassus compound

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.