SMH March 29 2002

Kopassus cited in Eluay killingSMH March 29 2002 

- Kopassus cited in Eluay killing

Jakarta: A senior Indonesian military (TNI) investigator has said that members of the army's feared Kopassus force were probably involved in the murder of the West Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay. The military police chief, Major-General Sulaiman Achmad Basyir, flagged the findings on Thursday as a government-appointed commission prepared to release its report on Mr Eluay's murder last November. General Sulaiman would not say how many soldiers were under suspicion, nor what their ranks were.

The news comes as the TNI fights allegations in a newly formed human rights tribunal in Jakarta that five of its low-ranking commanders were involved in human rights abuses in East Timor in
1999. While General Sulaiman said any soldier named as a suspect in the commission findings would be detained, he denied local media reports quoting unnamed middle-ranking officers that said troops thought to be involved were already behind bars.

Relations between Jakarta and the secessionist Papua province, known until recently as Irian Jaya, plummeted when Mr Eluay was found dead in his car on a lonely road outside the capital, Jayapura, on the way home from a function hosted by Kopassus. President Megawati Sukarnoputri set up a commission amid claims by Papuan human rights activists that Jakarta was responsible for Mr Eluay's murder. The 14-member commission includes representatives from the West Papuan community, and military and police officials. Earlier efforts by the police to investigate the case have been limited because, under Indonesian law, only the military has the jurisdiction to investigate its members accused of criminal acts. 

Military investigators were now co-operating with the commission, General Sulaiman said.

Since Mr Eluay was murdered a number of military commanders have admitted that their members may have had a hand in the killing, and the army chief, Endriatono Sutarto, has said evidence from witnesses has pointed to Kopassus.Australian Associated Press

Jakarta: A senior Indonesian military (TNI) investigator has said that members of the army's feared Kopassus force were probably involved in the murder of the West Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay. The military police chief, Major-General Sulaiman Achmad Basyir, flagged the findings on Thursday as a government-appointed commission prepared to release its report on Mr Eluay's murder last November. General Sulaiman would not say how many soldiers were under suspicion, nor what their ranks were.

The news comes as the TNI fights allegations in a newly formed human rights tribunal in Jakarta that five of its low-ranking commanders were involved in human rights abuses in East Timor in
1999. While General Sulaiman said any soldier named as a suspect in the commission findings would be detained, he denied local media reports quoting unnamed middle-ranking officers that said troops thought to be involved were already behind bars.

Relations between Jakarta and the secessionist Papua province, known until recently as Irian Jaya, plummeted when Mr Eluay was found dead in his car on a lonely road outside the capital, Jayapura, on the way home from a function hosted by Kopassus. President Megawati Sukarnoputri set up a commission amid claims by Papuan human rights activists that Jakarta was responsible for Mr Eluay's murder. The 14-member commission includes representatives from the West Papuan community, and military and police officials. Earlier efforts by the police to investigate the case have been limited because, under Indonesian law, only the military has the jurisdiction to investigate its members accused of criminal acts. 

Military investigators were now co-operating with the commission, General Sulaiman said.

Since Mr Eluay was murdered a number of military commanders have admitted that their members may have had a hand in the killing, and the army chief, Endriatono Sutarto, has said evidence from witnesses has pointed to Kopassus.Australian Associated Press