Jakarta says soldiers suspected over Papua murder

JAKARTA, April 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia's military said on Tuesday three soldiers had been declared suspects in the slaying last year of atop separatist leader in remote eastern Papua province. 

It was the first time the military has said its troops were involved in the killing of Theys Eluay, whose body was found in his overturned car last November, dealing a blow to stumbling government efforts to placate independence demands in Papua.
"The temporary conclusion is three rogue officers of the Indonesian military must go through a legal probe as suspects. They have been detained," the military said in a statement.

Separately, the head of Indonesia's military police, Major-General Sulaiman A.B., confirmed to reporters at a military ceremony that the three soldiers were suspects and had been detained since April 10. Neither he nor the statement gave details on what role the soldiers were suspected of playing in the killing, a possible motive, what branch of the 
military they came from or their rank.

Eluay chaired the pro-independence Papua Presidium Council -- an umbrella group of Papuan leaders seeking independence peacefully. Police have previously said members of the feared Kopassus special forces may have been involved in his murder. Kopassus has repeatedly dismissed the suggestion, while the military as an institution had denied it was involved.

Kopassus earned a notorious reputation for its alleged role in the torture and abduction of dissidents during ex-President Suharto's 32-year rule, which ended abruptly in 1998. Kopassus has played a central role in past operations to crush 
separatism in Papua, as well as in rebellious Aceh province on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island. Eluay's death bolstered already strong calls for independence among two million Papuans, who accuse the government of siphoning off the 
province's natural wealth and giving little in return.