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WEST PAPUA: Angry Theys supporters demand justice against 'murderers'
Tuesday: November 13, 2001
Some 7000 people marched to the provincial legislature in Jayapura yesterday calling for the arrest of the "murderers" of West Papuan pro-independence leader Theys Eluay.
Chanting "Free Papua!", the people encouraged all Papuans to join them, the Jakarta Post reported. "All Papuans with curly hair, join us," they shouted.
The Jakarta Post said the crowd was unable to meet with any legislators from the Indonesian-ruled province, which Indonesia has called Irian Jaya. The legislators were meeting with officials
of the pro-independence Papuan Presidium Council which Theys had led.
A cameraman from a TV station, who was shooting the march, had to leave the scene after the crowd shouted, "Hey you are not curly; you are from Java, go away!"
Theys was found dead in his car on Sunday west of Jayapura. He had been reported kidnapped by a group of people on his way home after attending a dinner an Indonesian Army base in observance of
National Heroes Day.
In response to the crowd's demand, deputy speaker of the legislative council John Ibo said the legislature would urge the police to thoroughly investigate Theys' death, the Jakarta Post
said. The legislative council would also hold a special emergency meeting to discuss his death, said John.
The officials of the Papuan Presidium Council demanded that an independent team be set up to investigate Theys' death, the newspaper added.
It said they also demanded that an open discussion on the history of Papua be held, involving international experts. Their other demands were police and security protection for the Papuan people, especially Papuan Presidium Council officials, and the reimbursement of transportation expenses for council members who wanted to attend Theys' funeral.
Meanwhile, there has been no decision made yet on when, where and how Theys' body would be buried, the Jakarta Post said. A relative said that the decision would be made after a meeting of tribal chiefs and an internal meeting among members of the Ondofolo tribe, to which Theys belonged.
The crowd gradually left the legislative council at about 8pm, without any violence, the newspaper reported.
On Sunday an angry mob damaged stores in Abepura. Another big mob in the neighboring area of Abepantai became angry upon seeing a convoy of vehicles traveling behind the car that was carrying Theys' body from the site of the incident.
Holding stones, the crowd allowed only the car carrying Theys' body and a truck loaded with police officers to pass. They started pelting the other cars with stones.
In Sentani, another angry mob set ablaze some shops, a hotel and a Bank Rakyat Indonesia branch office located close to Theys' residence.
In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, House of Representatives leaders said the killing of Theys was politically motivated. But they refused to speculate on who was behind it.
"I am sure that a political motive is behind the murder as he was a figure who struggled for certain political ambitions," House Speaker Akbar Tandjung told reporters.
Akbar urged the police to immediately embark upon a thorough investigation in the case.
He said such an investigation was needed to appease the public about who is guilty so it would not hamper the effort to solve problems in the province.
House Deputy Speaker Tosari Widjaja also expressed his belief that Theys' murder was politically motivated. But he hoped that the incident would not affect the effort of all parties to implement
the newly-endorsed special autonomy law for Papua, which Theys vehemently opposed.
"It is understandable that the people in Papua are very upset about the incident, but we do not know who is responsible for his death. We hope that they will entrust the case to the police,"
Tosari told The Jakarta Post.
Defence Minister Matori Abdul Djalil also refused to speculate on who was responsible, stressing that the government was now waiting for a result of the police investigation.
Tosari said the central government should also show its commitment to implement the Papuan Special Autonomy Law which is expected to boost development in the region.
The law will, among other things, more equitably distribute the proceeds from its natural resources to the province. The law also allows Papuans to hoist their own flag and sing their own national anthem.
Tosari also hoped that public figures and non-governmental organizations in the province would not provoke the people to resort to violence as it would only prolong the people's misery.
The central board of the Indonesian Muslim Students' Association condemned the kidnapping and murder, describing them as brutal acts.
The association's chairman, Nusron Wahid, said that the police should work hard to solve the crime. "The incident puts the dignity of the police on the line," he said.
A member of the Papuan Presidium Council, Andy D. Manoby, and the chairman of the Jakarta-based Communication Forum for Papuan Youth, John Poly Menanti, said Theys was killed by well-trained
amber (non-Papuan people).
"The location where Pak Theys' body was found - Koya village - is close to a military post in which nobody is allowed to pass without prior inspection by officers on guard," Manoby told a
press conference. This was held at the Legal Aid Institute's office in Jakarta.
"Since Pak Theys, could pass the post, it means that the assassin might have been familiar with the military."
In Jayapura, the chief of the Kopassus Army elite troop Task Force (Tribuana VIII Tas Force) based in Jayapura, Lt. Col. Hartomo said his troop felt slandered by rumors that Kopassus was behind Theys' death.
"Theys was presented at the dinner as a Papuan leader," Hartomo said, referring to Saturday's dinner at the Tribuana camp.
"Minutes after Theys' wife was informed by his driver that a group of people kidnapped Theys, she called the Tribuana post asking for help. Tribuana members and Theys' family reportedly had a good relationship. There was no reason for us and the military to kidnap or kill Theys," Hartomo said.
Hartomo and Trikora Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. R. Siregar said that the military condemned the murder.
"Kopassus would help police investigate Theys' death," said Dr Kelemen Mayakori, the head of the Jayapura General Hospital, revealed the results of the post-mortem examination. These apparently showed that the 63-year-old Theys had choked to death, the Jakarta Post reported.
He ruled out strangulation as the cause of the death, because there were no bruises on his neck, it said.
Dr Kelemen, who led the autopsy on Theys, said the team of doctors had found injuries around his mouth and nose, certain bodily secretions consistent with suffocation victims, but found no
injuries to his internal organs. "He did not die of a gunshot wound," he added.
"We carried out a thorough examination. What we found was the usual condition of a person who hangs himself to death (suffocation). But we found no (external) signs indicating that he
had hanged himself," he told The Jakarta Post, without elaborating.
Dr Kelemen added, however, that something had blocked Theys' breathing passages, resulting in fatal oxygen debt.
Police had earlier speculated that Theys had been strangled.
In Jakarta, National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf further speculated that Theys had been murdered by his own men.
"Theys was relatively moderate in the struggle for a Free Papua, using diplomacy and non-violence. Maybe the Free Papuan hardliners murdered him," Saleh theorized.
Also in Jakarta, a deputy of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Maj. Gen.(ret) Ilyas Yusuf, called on everybody not to hurriedly conclude anything about Theys'
death.
"Any theory or speculation is possible, but everybody must refrain from rushing to conclusions or assumptions," Ilyas was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.
"The murderers must be irresponsible people. But, we do not know who they are, therefore we cannot assume anything before the police get appropriate evidence," he said.
Recent incidents involving Theys include:
- Arrested for allegedly provoking people to demand Papuan Independence in July, 1998
- Led ceremony to hoist the Morning Star (Free Papua) Flag on Dec. 1, 1999. He was arrested for disobeying Indonesian law
- Asked President Abdurrahman Wahid to change the name of Irian Jaya to Papua in Dec. 1999
- Held Papuan Congress from May to June 2000
- Flown to Jakarta for heart treatment in Jan. 2001
- Tried for subversion starting May 14, 2001
- Signed a declaration to reject autonomy law on Oct. 21, 2001
- Kidnapped and found dead on Nov. 11, 2001.
Demands for independence have been mounting in West Papua. Human rights activists accuse Indonesian security forces of human rights abuses and say thousands of people have died in years of fighting.
The resource-rich territory was a Dutch colony. But in the 1960s the Indonesians, who had won their own independence from Dutch colonial rule, began fighting to take control of West Papua from the Dutch.
The province was officially taken over by the Indonesians following a controversial 1969 referendum after the departure of the Dutch.
Pro-independence West Papuans call the referendum a sham and say only a small number of men who were intimidated by the Indonesians were allowed to take part.
Indonesia has since encouraged the transmigration east of mainly Muslim Asian migrants from its crowded main islands to West Papua. West Papuans are mainly Melanesian and Christian.
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JAKARTA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Following are key facts about Indonesia's remote Papua province and a brief chronology of major events there in recent decades:
POPULATION - Around two million people, including large numbers of settlers shipped in under a now discredited but decades-old government programme to move people off crowded Java and other areas to more lightly populated regions, such as Papua. This has bred resentment and suspicion among indigenous Papuans, especially where migrants dominate commerce.
Most indigenous Papuans are Christian or animist, while the settlers are mainly Muslim. Numerous ethnic groups speak hundreds of different languages and dialects. Bahasa Indonesia, similar to Malay, is the official language of the province, but not widely spoken outside urban areas and
long-settled rural lands.
AREA - Papua covers 411,000 square km (158,000 sq miles), making up around a fifth of Indonesia's land territory. It is a place of extremes, from low-lying jungle swamps to rugged highlands and towering peaks with some boasting snowfields all year round. The province is bordered by Papua
New Guinea to the east.
ECONOMY - Papua is blessed with a staggering array of natural resources such as copper, gold, oil, natural gas and wood. It is home to the world's biggest copper and gold mine, operated by PT Freeport Indonesia, a unit of New Orleans-based Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
HISTORY - The Dutch, Indonesia's colonial ruler for 350 years, had only a light presence in Papua until the start of the 20th Century, partly because of the province's inhospitable terrain. In recent decades, some tribes in the province have only begun to emerge from the Stone Age.
CHRONOLOGY OF RECENT MAJOR PAPUAN EVENTS
Dec 1, 1961 -- Tribal chiefs make unilateral declaration of freedom for Papua.
1963 -- Papua incorporated into Indonesia after heavy diplomatic pressure on the Netherlands.
1969 -- A U.N.-run plebiscite held among local leaders -- including Theys Eluay, a leading independence chief who was found dead last weekend -- resulted in a vote to join Indonesia. The vote has been widely criticised as unfair.
For years the Free Papua Movement (OPM) conduct a low-level guerrilla war.
1996 -- OPM rebels hold a dozen people hostage, including six Europeans, for several months. Most are released, although two Indonesians in the group are killed by their captors. There have been isolated cases of hostage-taking since, although usually not for such long periods.
March 1996 - Pro-independence riots rock parts of the province. Some tribespeople, upset at uneven development, target the copper and gold mine operated by PT Freeport Indonesia.
Dec 1, 1999 -- Some 20,000 Papuans mark anniversary of unilateral declaration of freedom in the province, made by tribal chiefs in 1961.
June 4, 2000 -- Congress of tribal leaders unilaterally declares Papuan independence. Move rejected by Jakarta.
Oct, 2000 -- Dozens of settlers killed by pro-independence tribesmen around highland town of Wamena.
Nov, 2000 -- Eluay detained by police after being accused by authorities of treason. Unclear when he was released.
Dec 1, 2000 -- Thousands of Papuans mark anniversary of unilateral declaration of freedom in the province.
May 14, 2001 -- Eluay goes on trial in local capital Jayapura on charges of treason. Trial was still proceeding when he died.
Aug 13, 2001 -- President Megawati Sukarnoputri says will take personal charge of trying to resolve Papua dilemma.
Aug 16, 2001 -- Megawati apologises to Papuan people for decades of human rights abuses.
Oct 22, 2001 -- Parliament hands greater powers to Papua as part of efforts to stem separatist demands. Change province's name from Irian Jaya to Papua, reflecting wishes of local people.
Nov 11, 2001 -- Eluay found dead.
Australian Broadcasting Corp
Papua leader's death reawakens violence
The World Today - Monday, November 12, 2001 12:47
ELEANOR HALL: In Indonesia, there are fears of more violence in the separatist stronghold of Papua Province, also known as Irian Jaya, after the suspected murder of an independence leader, Chief Theys Eluay.
Our Indonesia correspondent, Mark Bowling, reports that news of his violent death has already sparked street protests from his supporters.
MARK BOWLING: Police and soldiers on the ground in Papua Province, in large numbers, have been put on alert as supporters of Chief Theys Eluay responded to news of his death, by burning cars. His badly battered body was found by villagers in a wrecked car in a ravine, about 30 kilometres from the capital, Jayapura, and close to the border with Papua New Guinea. His lawyer claims Theys Eluay had been tortured before death. His widow says she's certain Indonesian security forces were behind the killing.
It's reported that on Saturday night the independence leader had been dining with senior military officers, just hours before his disappearance. Police have promised a full investigation, but
won't say if there are any suspects yet.
Theys Eluay was a traditional chief, highly respected by his people, who live in the Sentani Lakes District, close to Jayapura. At his home, his daily ritual included raising the Morning Star flag, the defiant symbol of Papua's struggle against Indonesian rule.
Last year he was voted leader of the newly formed Papua Presidium, a group of leaders from across the Province, who believed the best way to achieve independence was to push Jakarta by peaceful means, and to lobby countries like Australia, to support their cause.
Theys Eluay received little support from Canberra. And early this year Jakarta began court proceedings against the Papuan leader that could have resulted in him going to gaol for life if found guilty of charges against the State.
Despite his pro-independence stance, some campaigners believed the 64 year old Theys Eluay was not pushing Jakarta hard enough for change. They even accused him of secretly being part of the
Indonesian security apparatus.
But his death is likely to galvanise anti-Indonesian forces in Papua Province. Human Rights groups have complained about a recent crackdown on pro-independence activists, and a continuing build-up of Indonesian security forces.
ELEANOR HALL: Our Indonesia correspondent, Mark Bowling, reporting.
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Laksamana.Net, Nov. 13, 2001
Conflicting reactions to the murder of West Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay are continuing to come in thick and fast, but the motive behind the killing remains a mystery.
Megawati
President Megawati Sukarnoputri has ordered an investigation into the death of the Papua Presidium Council chairman, an official said Tuesday (13/11/2001).
"Megawati conveyed the order to Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono," said Indonesian Ambassador to Namibia, Theo Waimuri, after a meeting with the president.
Waimuri, a West Papuan, said Megawati expressed hope the people of the province formerly known as Irian Jaya would stay calm despite the tragedy.
He said the president wants Theys buried as soon as possible.
The murder of the flamboyant separatist leader could put the government in a difficult position and may negatively influence international opinion toward Indonesia, he added.
Theys was found dead last Sunday (11/11/2001) a day after he and his driver were abducted by unidentified men. The fate of the driver is unknown.
West Papua Governor Jaap Salossa has called for a thorough police investigation into the murder and urged locals not to link the killing to parliament's recent decision to grant wide-ranging autonomy to the predominantly Christian province. The Papua Presidium Council had rejected
the autonomy law, saying it would settle for nothing less than outright independence.
The law, which is scheduled to come into effect next year, gives the province a bigger share of the revenue from its natural resources and grants greater powers to the local government.
Some analysts speculate the military may have murdered Theys in order to incite violence that would allow the government to rescind the autonomy legislation.
Separatists grouped in the Free Papua Organization (OPM) have for three decades been waging a low-level guerrilla war against government troops.
Church leaders have urged West Papuans to stay calm following the death of Theys and not be easily provoked.
War of Words
Chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Bambang Wijoyanto said Tuesday he feared that certain parties would attempt to thwart efforts to reveal the truth behind the murder of Theys.
"I fear that certain parties would do their best to throw the case into confusion," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
He called on all parties to refrain from making uninformed comments on the murder case. "Everyone would be well-advised to exercise self-control, because hasty comments will only complicate things and make it more difficult for the Papuans to solve their problems," he said.
Wijoyanto, who spent many years in West Papua before being elected YLBHI chairman, said Theys' death was obviously a big shock to his supporters. "Under the circumstances, it would be understandable for Papuans to become quite emotional. That's why unnecessary comments would only make things more complicated," he said.
The government should promptly investigate the murder in order to prevent unrest in the province, he said. "Government officials should avoid being involved in a war of words, because it would serve no purpose."
He said it was useless for officials to keep denying that state forces killed Theys because such denials would not stop the accusations. "As it is, although the government has promised to refrain from using force, there has never been a guarantee that it would not do so."
Wijoyanto said the murder investigation should be conducted objectively, if necessary by involving the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).
PBB Blames Separatists
The conservative Islam-based Crescent Star Party (PBB) on Monday claimed the murder of Theys could be "part of the dirty games of separatist groups trying to break away from the Republic of Indonesia".
PBB secretary general M.S. Kaban said separatists might have killed Theys to make Indonesia look bad in the international arena. "The negative message they want to expose worldwide is that Indonesia continues to be a chaotic country where a popular figure like Theys Eluay cannot be protected by security authorities," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
He said the government must take prompt action to investigate the murder and should by Thursday publicly announce the names of those responsible for the killing.
If there is any hint of a government cover-up, security authorities may be blamed for the murder, he added.
"If the Papuan people cannot be convinced by the results of the government's investigation into the death of Theys Eluay, the murder case may worsen the already complex Papuan problem," said Kaban.
"I now wonder whether the wide-ranging autonomy for Papua will be accepted by the Irian Jaya people following the murder of Theys Eluay," he said.
Kaban praised Theys as a "community leader who had dedicated much to Indonesia". He said Theys' demands for West Papua to keep a greater portion of its revenue were reasonable because the province lagged behind other provinces in terms of development.
National Police spokesman Saleh Saaf also suggested Theys may have been killed by the Free Papua Organization (OPM). "Theys was relatively moderate in the struggle for a free Papua, using diplomacy and non-violence. Maybe the OPM hardliners murdered him," he said.
Amien Rais
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Amien Rais on Tuesday urged police to thoroughly investigate the murder.
"Theys' death should not be left a mystery because he was a respected leader of the Papuans and they would be angry if the case remains unsolved," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
He said the international community would lose confidence in the central government if the facts behind the murder were not revealed.
Rais rejected claims the military killed Theys. "I have a different opinion. Theys' death has created instability among locals. In dealing with this situation, the police and military must increase their alertness. [So] it is illogical if the military was behind the murder," he said.
The MPR speaker said he suspects a "third party" killed Theys in an effort to spark serious conflict between Jakarta and West Papua.
House of Representatives speaker Akbar Tanjung has also said the killing was politically motivated.
Grave Matter
A council of tribal leaders in Theys' hometown of Sentani has set the funeral date for December 1, the anniversary of a 1961 independence declaration, Antara reported.
But the Papua Presidium Council and members of the provincial legislative assembly said the date had not been agreed to yet because Theys' heart was still in Jakarta, being examined by the forensics team at the University of Indonesia, detikcom reported.
The rest of Theys' body had been lying in state, covered by a West Papuan flag, at the local legislative building in Jayapura city. On Tuesday it was taken to Sentani.
"The issue of Theys' burial is still uncertain. We only reached an agreement on some matters, namely a condemnation of Theys' murder and terrorism in Irian Jaya, an end to human rights violations in this province, and a call for police investigations into the case," said assembly chairman John Ibo.
He said the Papua Presidium Council wants the West Papua administration to pay for the flights of 501 members of the council from 14 regencies in the province wishing to attend the funeral.
Presidium member Herman Awom said the assembly must convene and immediately comply with three main demands. First, form an inquiry into the murder. Second, provide protection for the people of West Papua. And third, establish national and international discussions to resolve the conflict in the province.
But local legislators said that out of respect for the dead, the assembly would not meet until after the funeral.
Awom warned that mass unrest could erupt if the assembly fails to fulfill the demands.
Reports said hundreds of mourners staged a procession for about 50 kilometers to accompany the body of the slain leader from Jayapura to Sentani. Thousands of locals stood on the roadside to pay their respects. Many sang patriotic songs and shouted independence slogans.
Cause of Death
Police initially said Theys had been strangled to death, while some military officials said he had probably died of a heart attack or lung failure.
Doctors at the Jayapura General Hospital said Theys had choked to death but they ruled out strangulation because there were no bruises on the victim's neck.
New York-based Human Rights Watch described Theys' death as a well-planned assassination.
The Papua Presidium Council is also adamant Theys was killed. "Despite some speculation, his death was clearly murder... We call on the authorities to solve this," Thaha Al-Hamid, secretary general of the council, told Reuters.
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