Theys' Murder: Promise... What Promise? 

Papuan leaders say that America will assist in the investigation of Theys Eluay's death. Ralph Boyce denies all. 

HUNDREDS of worshipers swarmed to the Church of Hope, Jayapura, in the middle of last April. Why? An important guest was in the congregation. But all of a sudden the masses dispersed. From within the church, United States Ambassador to Indonesia, Ralph L. Boyce, could be seen making a quick exit, followed by Papuan chieftains, including Tom Beanal. They each hopped into their own cars and quickly left the churchyard as hordes of people ran after them in hot pursuit. 

This meeting between the ambassador and Papuan leaders ended after just half an hour, when news brewed that security forces would raid them on the pretext that they were gathering at a time outside of the mass service. Thus, they agreed to move on to Hotel Yasmin, just 300 meters from the church. So, hundreds of locals who wanted to air their complaints to Boyce also 
thronged to the hotel. 

Was this really a critical meeting? The topic discussed was really no different to the Papuan issues raised in the mass media, that is the problem of settling cases of human rights abuse in this Land of the Bird of Paradise, especially the death of the chairman of the Papuan Presidium (PDP), Theys Hiyo Eluay. However, Boyce's presence has made these issues even more 
sensitive for Jakarta. The US is starting to seem like it is interfering with Indonesia's domestic affairs. 

Such views are not without reason. One day prior to this meeting, Boyce and his group had already met with PDP leaders at the Pondok Ria restaurant in Jayapura. In this five-hour long meeting, with an intermission of char-grilled yellow tuna, the topic was the same. PDP secretary-general, Thaha Mohammad Alhamid, demanded that Boyce promise to assist with 
solving the mystery of Theys's death. 

At the beginning of December last year, Thaha had met Boyce in Jakarta. At the time he asked about the US stance regarding the Indonesian investigations into this case. And Boyce said, according to Thaha, that America wanted the case to be solved in a transparent way. Boyce is also said to have written to Yaneke Ohee-Eluay, Theys's wife. In this letter he apparently voiced US support for the process of forming an objective investigation team. He did not foreclose the possibility of there being foreign participation. "Of course, only if Jakarta permits," said Thaha explaining the content of a similar letter also sent to the PDP. 

But if there really is an effort on behalf of the US to assist with the investigations, why is it only now that the meeting in Pondok Ria and Hotel Yasmin have been arranged, one month later? 

Thaha is disturbed by the final report of the National Investigation Commission, presented to President Megawati Soekarnoputri at the end of last April. The conclusion reached by the Commission, which deemed the case only a criminal matter, infuriated the PDP. The official announcement from the Military Police on this matter only strengthened the content of the 

Commission's report. 

"In fact it is clear that there has been an abuse of human rights," Thaha said. He also restated Boyce's promise to assist in the settling of the investigation in a more objective manner. 

But this is clearly no easy task, because, according to Koesparmono Irsan, if foreign elements want to provide assistance to investigations in another country, it is necessary to make a request to that country. Or, it can proceed without permission, but only if the country in question has no valid government. "Like the Rwandan case," said the former chairman of the National Investigation Commission. In the Papuan case, these members of the National Commission for Human Rights were concerned that the US wanted to shake their reputation. "Except if there was an interest that they felt was 
necessary to uphold," he said. 

And such interests are not rare. The US has large investments in companies based in Papua. One example is Freeport Indonesia. Possessing a working contract for the mining of gold, silver and copper in Timika. This company scoops up about US$1.5 billion or Rp15 trillion each year. There is also Arco, which has combined forces with Amoco and British Petroleum (BP), tapping into natural gas in the Bintuni Gulf. This company has already invested US$5 billion. Not to mention Conoco, which is producing oil near the Laurentz National Park zone. 

But is it true America really wants to assist with "straightening up" these worrying investigation results? Boyce denies this and says he knows nothing about an American offer of an assistance team for investigations into the Theys case. "I have only heard about this from you now," Boyce told Syarief Amir from TEMPO in Makassar last week. Boyce also shrugged his 
shoulders about the apparent letter to Theys' widow. 

Prasidono L., Levi Silalahi (Jakarta), Cunding Levi (Jayapura)