Indonesia Arrests Anti-Terror Troops Over Murder

By Tom McCawley in Jakarta

Indonesia's military has arrested three elite combat troops in connection with the murder of Theys Hiyo Eluay, an independence leader from Papua province. 

Major General Sulaiman Ahmad Basir said three special forces commandos from the much-criticised Kopassus unit were being questioned in connection with the murder of Mr Eluay, 64, on November 10 last year. 

The arrests underline concerns about the involvement of the 4,000-strong unit, which has been linked to a string of human rights abuses, in US-backed efforts to crackdown on militants as part of the wider war on terrorism. 

Syafrie Syamsuddin, army spokesperson, said that about a 100 witnesses were questioned as part of an investigation by military police into the killing and promised the army would "take action against members who have broken the law." 

Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri was forced to order an inquiry into the murder following public outcry at the discovery of Mr Eluay's bruised corpse in a ravine in Papua's capital Jayapura, some 3740 km from Jakarta. 

Mr Eluay was the president of the Papua Presidium, a council of independence leaders from the mineral-rich province. Papua is home to the world's third largest copper and gold mine, operated by Freeport-McMoRan and the giant Tangguh liquid natural gas field, managed by BP, the UK energy group. 

During the 32-year rule of the former President Suharto, who resigned in May 1998, the Kopassus unit was deployed on lucrative missions to protect mining facilities across Indonesia. 

Kopassus troops were active in Indonesia's trouble spots - especially East Timor, and the Aceh province - and acted largely in secret. 

Indonesia's army commander General Endriartono last week made a rare admission that army officers may have been involved and that the order to kill Mr Eluay may have come from outside the formal chain of command. 

Kopassus is one of Indonesia's three main counter terrorist agencies and is expected to be center-stage as Indonesia becomes more active in the US-led counter-terrorism crackdown. 

The Pentagon said at the weekend a senior US official would visit Jakarta on April 24 to discuss military reform. 

Indonesia took control of West Papua, a former Dutch colony, in 1969 after a UN-supervised plebiscite, in which some 1,000 hand-picked tribal leaders voted for integration. Mr Eluay and other independence leaders called the vote a sham.