Report by TAPOL about growing tensions over the Theys murder investigation

December 31 2001

Reports appearing in the press point to a growing tension between the various arms of the security forces, in particular between the police force and the army and between certain units within the army over investigations into the assassination of Theys Eluay, the chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council who waa abducted on 10 November and whose body was found a day later.

An army team of investigation has been in Jayapura since Friday to conduct its own investigations. The central government said last week that it would announce the composition of an 'independent' team of investigation 'before the end of the year'. But this has not happened, suggesting that the central government may have put their move on hold until the army's investigations in Jayapura have been completed.

The new chief of the Indonesian police, Police General Da'i Bachtiar, stunned the general public with his statement published on 29 December (Cendrawasih Pos) that evidence so far collected points to members of Kopassus based in the Tribuana Kopassus base being responsible for the crime. As will be recalled, Theys had spent the evening of his abduction at the Kopassus base and was abducted only a short distance away as he was being driven home by his driver who has since disappeared. Da'i said it was difficult for the police to investigate members of this elite unit as the police have no powers to interrogate members of the army. He hoped that the military police would soon get involved in the investigations.

Another obstacle was that witnesses were afraid to come forward as they felt under threat from certain quarters. He said it was also important to eliminate existing frictions between the forces so that the investigation could go forward.

He insisted that the police were not afraid to face the consequences, if evidence pointed to the involvement of Kopassus. 'We must operate on the basis of the facts on the ground without abandoning the principle of the presumption of innocence,' he said. He also said that the driver Aristoteles Masoka, was the key to the investigations. If he could be found, things would progress much faster.

Meanwhile, the same paper reports that the army team is collaborating with the regional police force and has seen the evidence already collected. The army team, headed by Brig.General Marbun, had been sent to Jayapura to seek clarifications about the involvement of army 'oknum' (rogue) elements in the murder. The regional police chief, Drs Made Mangku Pastika, said that if investigations pointed to army involvement, the role of the police would end.

The police chief also said that the murder of Theys had put the future of the special autonomy law into doubt. It is not unlikely that the motive for the killing was to thwart special autonomy. He said opposition to special autonomy law comes from two directions, from those who want independence and from those who think that the law 'gives too much away to the Papuans' and will therefore be likely to further encourage independence.

Several days ago, the three leading human rights NGOs in Jayapura, ELSHAM, the LBH and Kontras, stated their total opposition to moves by the government and the military to investigate the crime, because they are aimed at 'localising' the crime and treating it as an 'ordinary crime' and not as an extra-ordinary crime involving state institutions. They believe that the killing was politically motivated and insist on the government setting up an independent international team that would include the UN Human Rights High Commissioner's office and international organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch as well as the National Human Rights Commission. The team should have powers to investigate state institutions including the President, the Supreme Congress, the DPR, the Minister of the Interior and the national intelligence agencies. It was important to be able to establish whether the crime only involved individuals or involved institutions.

According to Papua Pos of 29 December, the army team now in Jayapura was limited to seeking clarifications about the case to determine whether anyone from the army was involved. If the team was able to establish that army elements were involved, then a full blown army investigation would be conducted, and the police would no longer be involved. If the case involved joint investigations between the military and civil forces, then a konseksitas investigation would be launched. Investigations would have to start all over again because police findings would not be permitted if the case goes before a military court.

This paper also reported the national police chief, Da'i Bachtiar, as saying that evidence pointed in the direction of a link between the Tribuana Kopassus base and the crime. If this were so, this would be a matter for army investigation.

These press reports point in the direction of an attempt by the army to take over control of investigations from the police. The army, which is clearly on the defensive because of overwhelming evidence already collected by the Jayapura police and by ELSHAM about Kopassus involvement, now seems to be intent on a damage limitation exercise. This could make any move by the central government to set up its own team irrelevant and leave it to army investigators to scapegoat members of Kopassus who would go for trial in a military court, and put a stop to any further investigation into the assassination. Hence, while chief of police Da'i's remark about Kopassus involvement is stunning, it could in effect open the way for the army to conduct its damage limitation operation.

RTE 1 Radio (national broadcaster)

Saturday File

22 December 2001

[Extract, relevant to West Papua]

Cathal Mac Coille, presenter, on the subject of the possibility of bringing the Generals accused of human rights abuses in East Timor to justice, asked:

"The point has been made about the understandable reservations of the East Timorese, nevertheless the people with serious blood on their hands, the organisers of violence have moved on, have moved out elsewhere, and if the international community doesn't indicate by way of having an international tribunal, if it dosen't indicate some determination to deal with these people, they will perhaps use the same methods somewhere else."

In reply, Liz O'Donnell, TD, Irish Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs, said, inter alia:

"It is true there is now a repeat performance going on in West Papua, and that is very worrying"

Papuan rights group rejects inquiry into independence leader's death

JAKARTA Dec 18 (AFP)

[ See Els-ham report on Theys killing at www.gn.apc.org/tapol/r011213theys.htm ]

The leading human rights group in Indonesia's Irian Jaya province on Tuesday rejected as a whitewash a proposed government inquiry into the murder of independence leader Theys Eluay.

"This is a state crime, state institutions are implicated, so how can they be involved in any inquiry?" John Rumbiak, of the Institute for Advocacy and Human Rights (Elsham), told AFP.

The government is currently considering a proposal by the National Human Rights Commission for a 'National Independent Team' to investigate Eluay's death. Under the proposal the government, military, and police would be part of the so-called 'independent' body.

Rumbiak said the military's special forces unit Kopassus was so closely implicated in Eluay's killing on November 10, that neither the military nor the government should sit on the proposed inquiry.

"Here in Jayapura we are calling it an assassination, not a murder. This is an extraordinary crime involving the state. It is a highly political killing," he said by phone from Irian Jaya, known locally as Papua.

Eluay, who headed the pro-independence Papua Praesidium, was abducted by an unidentified group of people as he drove home from a military Heroes' Day celebration hosted by the local Kopassus unit, in Jayapura on November 10.

His body, bearing signs of asphyxiation, was found in his car at the bottom of a ravine the following day.

Eluay's driver, who escaped and reported his abduction by 'non-Papuan' people, has subsequently disappeared.

"Based on our interviews including with the police, it's already been concluded that Kopassus are very much implicated," Rumbiak said.

"But we think Kopassus have been victimised, they did what they have been told, instructed to do. The masterminds of this assassination have to be investigated."

Rumbiak said Megawati's national day speech on August 16 and her reports on separatism in the province following her visit there as vice-president early last year advocated a zero-tolerance policy towards separatist activities.

"So when you look at these policies clearly outlining their intention and their acts towards the Papuan separatist activities, from our perspective the assassination of Theys Eluay is a state crime. It is no ordinary crime," Rumbiak said.

Since questioning at least seven Kopassus agents over the killing, police have complained that they have met "a dead-end" in their inquiries, Commission member Bambang Suharto told AFP.

Suharto led a fact-finding mission on Eluay's death to Jayapura from December 3 to 7. He said that of six possible explanations for Eluay's death, he most believed that it was a conspiracy aimed at destabilising the central government in Jakarta.

Rumbiak said Suharto and the human rights commission have no credibility in the eyes of the Papuan people, since several inquiries into past cases of extrajudicial killings have gone nowhere and resulted in no convictions.

"To be honest the Commission is entangled in so much politics, it is dominated by the military, and we don't see that any inquiry they set up would function independently," he said.

"What we need now is a truly independent team made up of international human rights experts that have the credibility and independence and respect to investigate the security minister, the intelligence chief, all those relevant state bodies."

Appeal by Franciscans and Dominicans (Geneva)

Geneva, 14 December 2001

FRANCISCANS INTERNATIONAL and DOMINICANS for Justice and Peace demand an independent investigation into the Murder of Theys Hiyo Eluay and an end to human rights abuses in Papua by the Government of Indonesia.

Franciscans International and Dominicans for Justice and Peace remain gravely concerned by the politically motivated murder of Mr.Theys Hiyo Eluay, Papuan community leader, on 10 November 2001.

The integration of Papua a former Dutch colony - into the Unitary State of Indonesia took place in 1969. This event utterly failed to adequately address the concerns of the Papuans, a people that have since suffered gross and flagrant violations of their human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Government of Indonesia. The Government of Indonesia has embarked upon along-term campaign of extra-judicial executions, violence against women, torture, arbitrary detention, intimidation, harassment against the Papuanpeople.

The Inquiry Team on Human Rights Abuses (KPP HAM), established by the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in February 2001,concluded that these gross violations of the Papuan people's human rights onstituted crimes against humanity.

Despite this State-sanctioned campaign of brutality, Mr. Theys Eluay sought to bring long-lasting peace to Papua by engaging the authorities in order to formulate an endurig, political solution that would adequately address his people's legitimate grievances. He sought to incorporate the Papuan peopledirectly into this process and foster a national and international dialogue on the question. Mr. Theys Eluay rejected Government of Indonesia s offer of special autonomy , as it is not an appropriate final response to the real problems and rightful demands of the Papuan people.

Mr. Theys Eluay was murdered less than two months before the Government ofIndonesia s plan to impose its special autonomy law on January 1st, 2002.

According to numerous local reports, the possibility of Indonesian military involvement cannot be discounted in the murder of Mr. Theys Eluay. Despite repeated pleas to the Government of Indonesia and the National Commission for Human Rights, there has not yet been an independent investigation into the murder of Mr. Theys Eluay.

Franciscans International and Dominicans for Justice and Peace:

1. Strongly urge the Government of Indonesia to end its impunity by authorising and providing total support to an immediate and thouroughly independent investigation of Mr. Theys Eluay s murder, pursuant to Indonesian Law, No. 26 (2000), on Human Rights Courts.

2. Call upon the Government of Indonesia to adhere to international human rights norms and standards and immediately end the practice of extra-judicial execution, violence against women, torture, arbitrary detention, intimidation, harassment and other forms of State-sanctioned violence in all regencies, including Papua.

3. Urge the Government of Indonesia to fulfil its obligations under the Second Amendement of the 1945 Constitution Art. 28 I (4): the protection, promotion, enforcement and fulfilment of human rights are the responsibility of
the State, in particular the government.

4. Call upon the Government of Indonesia to invite the Special Rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people to visit Papua and to provide them with complete and unhindered access to individuals and communities and to fully collaborate with all the relevant thematic procedures of the Commission on Human Rights.

7000 DEMONSTRATORS OUTSIDE PAPUA GOVERNOR OFFICE

Jayapura, 13 December 2000

ELS-HAM

An estimated 7000 determined demonstrators, mostly Papuan university and college students, are jamming the front yard and the road in front of the governor's office today staging their protests over a number of political issues concerning the current situation of Papua, including the poor handling by police of the assassination case of the late Theys Hiyo Eluay, chairman of Papua Presidium Council. Today is the third day. High on demonstrators demands are :

(1) to immediately and wisely provide answers to Mr. Eluay's death, including human rights abuses and violations having occurred since 1962 to 2001. And the inclusion of an independent international investigation team to this case;
(2) to immediately open a National and International Dialog on Political Status of West Papua;
(3) strongly rejects the Special Autonomy Legislation for Papua since special autonomy is not the wish of Papuan people,
(4) strongly rejects the dispatch of more infantry troops into Papua and, on behalf of all Papuan students and the people of Papua, we earnestly call for an immediate withdrawal of all organic and non organic security forces out of Papua as Papua is not in the state of war. We strongly urge that our demands are seriously brought into action.

So far Papua Governor, Jaap Sallosa, refuses to meet the protesters. The bulk of protesting students are from the state Cenderawasih University who were transported to the governor's office on trucks and buses. At this time of writing no government official, including the governor himself, was known to have met the demonstrators.

New Zealand Ambassador inquires about Theys killing

Tuesday, 11 December 2001

[Report received from Jayapura, probably based on Antara article. TAPOL]

[Note: This visit should be seen as a sign of the concern of the diplomatic community in Jakarta at the slow pace of the investigations into the Theys assassination. TAPOL]

Jayapura - While on a working visit to Jayapura on Monday, New Zealand's ambassador to Jakarta, Chris Elder, inquired about efforts underway to solve the case of the murder of Theys Hiyo Eluay, chairperson of the Papuan Presidium Council. Nothing clear is yet known about the case. Deputy Governor Constan Karma told Antara in Jayapura on Tuesday that he had received a visit from the New Zealand ambassador and members of his staff.

During the meeting, the ambassador asked for information about what has been done to investigate the killing of Theys Eluay and to discover the motive for the crime.

'I told the ambassador that he should speak to the chief of police, Drs. Made Mangku Pastika,' Karma said.

The ambassador also conveyed the condolences of the New Zealand government and people to the people of Papua on the death of Papua's pro-independence leader.

THEYS KILLING IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY THAT MUST BE INVESTIGATED BY AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION

TAPOL strongly condemns the decision of the Indonesian Government to set up a joint military and police team to investigate the abduction and killing of Theys Hiyo Eluay on 10-11 November and reiterates its call made immediately after the body of Theys Eluay was found nearly three weeks ago for the Indonesian Government to set up an independent team to investigate the crime.

In a letter today to the Minister of State at the Foreign Office Ben Bradshaw, Carmel Budiardjo of TAPOL said:

'The circumstances in which Theys Eluay was abducted and later killed strongly suggest that the military may have been involved in the crime. Moreover, it has been established by our contacts in Jayapura that the local police reached a point in their investigations that made it impossible for them to proceed any further. The reason for this is clear: the police have no powers to investigate criminal actions by the military.'

Theys Hiyo Eluay, the chairperson of the Papuan Presidium Council, was abducted on 10 November, a short distance from the Tribuana base of the army's elite corps Kopassus, on his way home after having dinner at the base. His driver Aristoteles Masoka made a distressed phone call to the wife of the victim to inform her of the abduction, and has since disappeared. The body of the victim was discovered on the following day. An autopsy found that he died as a result of foul play and his body showed signs of strangulation and swellings.

In a press conference in Jayapura today, Papua's leading human rights organisation ELSHAM described the crime as 'an act of terror and provocation by the security forces aimed at stirring up conflict in Papua', and said that it was 'pre-meditated and politically motivated'. In other words, it was a crime against humanity.

In such circumstances, the decision of the Indonesian Government to leave it to the police and military to investigate this crime will not satisfy the basic requirements for a thorough investigation to identify not only the perpetrators of the crime but also those who masterminded and planned it.

The circumstances suggest that members of Kopassus may have been involved in the crime. These special forces have a history of involvement in abductions and killings. In the months before the fall of President Suharto in May 1998, Kopassus was responsible for the abduction and murder of a number of Indonesian pro-democracy activists. After Suharto's removal from power, some low-ranking members of Kopassus were tried in court for the crimes and given derisory sentences. The investigations also led to the 'honourable dismissal' from the army of Lieutenant-General Prabowo who was the commander of Kopassus at the time.

In its letter to Minister Ben Bradshaw, TAPOL called on the British Government to urge the Indonesian Government to set up an independent team to investigate this crime against humanity. The commission should be free from the military and should include academics, human rights activists and persons with the necessary forensic skills. Someone from Papua should be included and the commission should be instructed to make its findings public.

It also urged the British Government to impress on the Indonesian Government the need to ascertain the whereabouts of the key witness, Aristoteles Masoka, who was driving the car when Theys Eluay was abducted and who has since disappeared, and to take firm measures to offer protection to all persons willing to come forward as witnesses.

In conclusion, Carmel Budiardjo said: 'Without a proper investigation of this crime against humanity that wins the confidence of the Papuan people and the international community, we fear that the aftermath of this horrific crime can only further inflame passions in the territory and result in yet more disturbances and unrest.'

TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign
111 Northwood Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon CR7 8HW, UK.
tel +44 020 8771 2904 fax +44 020 8653 0322
tapol@gn.apc.org www.gn.apc.org/tapol

The Irish Times, 29 November, 2001

World News

West Papua transfer a 'sham'

DUBLIN - The former minister for foreign affairs, Mr David Andrews, said yesterday that the international community and the UN should revisit the "sham" of the "Act of Free Choice" by which the now troubled and separatist former Dutch colony of West Papua (Irian Jaya) was transferred to Indonesian control in the 1960s, writes David Shanks.

His comment follows an admission last week by the man in charge of the hand-over for the United Nations, Mr Chakravarthy Narasimhan, that the process of consulting 1025 elders was "just a whitewash". Mr Narasimhan was then undersecretary-general of the UN.

"The mood at the UN was to get rid of this problem as quickly as possible," he said. Mr Andrews also called for "a fully independent inquiry" into the recent murder of the separatist Papuan leader, Theys Eluay.

Island Demands Justice for Murdered Leader

The Sunday Tribune (Ireland)

November 25th, 2001

Tens of thousands lined the streets of West Papua's capital Jayapura last week for the funeral of murdered independence leader, Theys Eluay.

Eluay (64) who was leader of the West Papuan Presidium, the leading pro-independence movement for the vast jungle-covered half-island of two million people that is Indonesia's most eastern province, was a well-known moderate, and tried to maintain good relations with Indonesian civil and military officials.

The day he was murdered, he had attended an Indonesian army (TNI) ceremony near his home to commemorate Indonesia's "Heroes Day".

Shortly after leaving for home, his car was stopped by a group of men with "non-Papuan features" according to his driver who managed to call Eluay's wife on his mobile. The driver then disappeared. The next day, Eluay's body was found in a ravine near the New Guinea border. Indonesian officials claimed he had died of natural causes. Doctors' reports said, however, he had been strangled.

As news of his death spread, gangs of Papuan youths attacked and burned shops belonging to Indonesian migrants in Sentani. And several thousand people marched to the main police station in Jayapura shouting, "we want justice."

Few Papuans doubt where the real responsibility lies: with the Indonesian government and the TNI. "What is clear is that the No 1 enemy is the Indonesian government, because we are struggling for independence, but through peace and dialogue," said another Presidium member Taha Al-Hamid.

There seems little chance of the murderers being brought to justice. Indeed, Eluay may have been the most prominent victim to date of Operation "Sangat Rahasia" (Top Secret) run by the TNI, whose contents have only recently been revealed in documents leaked to the Indonesian Human Rights Campaign in London. With world attention diverted to Afghanistan, and the international media banned from West Papua, the TNI feels it has a free hand to deal with pro-independence movements there and in Aceh.

The document reveals that at a meeting in Jakarta on 8 June, 2000 senior officials of the TNI, the police and secret services, drew up a plan to undermine West Papua's independence movement by taking "preventative and repressive action" to divide, discredit and destroy the Presidium and Papuan struggle. Under former Indonesian Presidents Habibie and his successor, Abdul Rahman Wahid, some effort was made to acknowledge the grievance felt by Indonesia's outer islands, most notably Aceh and West Papua. Under Wahid, Papuans were allowed to fly their own flag, the Morning Star, and even call themselves Papuans, which had been a criminal offence under Suharto. At that time Eluay and other Papuan leaders were able to meet the reformist Indonesian president to voice grievances and make the case for independence. Although Wahid rejected independence, he nevertheless supported a dialogue.

The West Papuan Presidium was formed in July 1998 after the massacre by soldiers of many peaceful protestors on Biak island off the north coast. The massacre galvanised Papuan opinion and led to even pro-Indonesian Papuans such as Eluay, who had been an MP for the ruling Golkar Part for 15 years, to change sides and support independence.

Although over 100,000 Papuans have died at the hands of the Indonesian military over three decades, the Presidium opted for peaceful methods to achieve independence. Nothing less than independence would satisfy Eluay said last month: "We do not want to be part of Indonesia any more. We are a separate people with our own culture and identity."

More recently, the Presidium appointed lawyers to challenge the legality of the 1962 New York Agreement which had forced Holland to cede West Papua to Indonesia; and also the dubious 1969 Act of 'Free' Choice where 1,025 hand picked Papuan tribal chiefs-including Eluay-voted for full "integration" with Indonesia. The Presidium has continually demanded a referendum on independence similar to that held in East Timor in 1999.

And Indonesian migrants mostly from Java and Sulawesi, who now make up 40% of the population, completely dominate the economy and government, causing fierce resentment.

"The so-called development policies of Jakarta are seen by Papuans as a new form of colonialism that exploits our resources and marginalises us," says John Rumbiak of human rights groups, Els-Ham.

Papua's incorporation into Indonesia was a farce, top U.N. officials say

By SLOBODAN LEKIC
Associated Press Writer

[This article by Slobodan Lekic is a major break through. Narasimhan who was
central to the whole UN involvement in West Papua in the 1960's has publicly
admitted that it was a sham.....]

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Wracked by separatist struggles across its vast
chain of islands, Indonesia is being especially haunted by a referendum 32
years ago that former U.N. officials now admit was a sham.

The region in question is Irian Jaya, Indonesia's easternmost province, and
the referendum legitimizing the Dutch colony's annexation is proving to be a
source of intensifying separatist fervor.

U.N. officials who conducted the 1969 vote by tribal chiefs now say most
citizens of the province covering the western half of New Guinea island were
intentionally excluded from the process.

''It was just a whitewash. The mood at the United Nations was to get rid of
this problem as quickly as possible,'' said Chakravarthy Narasimhan, a
retired U.N. undersecretary general who handled the takeover.

''Nobody gave a thought to the fact that there were a million people there
who had their fundamental human rights trampled,'' he said in a telephone
interview from his home in Madras, India.

The ballot immediately sparked an uprising in the region, which is also
known as Papua. Indonesia's army has failed in repeated attempts to crush
the rebellion, and support for independence has strengthened since Gen.
Suharto, Indonesia's dictator, was forced from office in 1998.

In the past, bloody protests have erupted on Dec. 1, the anniversary of
Papua's 1961 independence proclamation. So Indonesian security forces are
bracing for more trouble Saturday, the 40th anniversary of the proclamation.

Independence activists have been further galvanized by the U.N.-supervised
referendum in 1999 that allowed nearby East Timor to break away from
Indonesia and become independent after years of fighting Indonesian forces.
They are demanding a similar plebiscite for Irian Jaya.

The mysterious killing on Nov. 10 of Theys Eluay, a prominent
pro-independence politician, has added to tensions. Many Papuans accuse the
government of responsibility for the death of Theys, who was found strangled
after attending a dinner with Indonesian army commanders.

Opposition to rule from Jakarta appears almost universal among Papuans. But
the Indonesian government is adamant about holding the region, the nation's
biggest and home to rich natural resources.

When the Dutch originally granted independence to the Indonesia archipelago
in 1949, they retained control of Papua, arguing it had no ethnic,
linguistic or cultural links with the other islands.

Unlike Indonesia's mainly Malay inhabitants, Papuans are racially distinct
Melanesians. While 85 percent of Indonesians are Muslims, Papuans are either
Christians or animists.

The Netherlands announced it would grant statehood to Papua and set up a
local legislature Dec. 1, 1961.

Indonesia reacted by launching a series of cross-border incursions.
The invaders were easily routed by Dutch marines. But the U.S.
administration of President Kennedy feared a military defeat could drive
Indonesia into the Communist bloc and pressured the Dutch to hand over the
colony.

The Dutch eventually agreed, and in 1962 the United Nations was brought in
to prepare a ''one man, one vote'' referendum for self-determination by
1969. Within a year, however, the world body relinquished administration of
the region to Jakarta, and left Suharto's military dictatorship in charge of
preparing for a democratic plebiscite.

The Indonesians, sensing overwhelming opposition to the takeover, decided
to canvass only 1,025 hand-picked supporters. The result, not surprisingly,
was a unanimous vote for integration.

Lobbied intensely by Washington, the U.N. Security Council endorsed the
vote.

''Suharto was a terrible dictator,'' Narasimhan said. ''How could anyone
have seriously believed that all voters unanimously decided to join his
regime? Unanimity like that is unknown in democracies.''

Other former U.N. officials agreed. ''It wasn't our most glorious hour,'' said Brian Urquhart, another retired U.N. undersecretary general.

''It was arranged to have the U.N. put the seal of good housekeeping on the
easiest but not necessarily most democratic way to resolve the problem,'' he
said in a telephone interview from his home in Massachusetts.

Hero chief becomes 'mulch for the people'

By CHRIS McCALL
SENTANI, WEST PAPUA

The Age
Sunday 18 November 2001

Wailing, beating drums and hooting like birds, a throng of tearful mourners
converged here yesterday to pay their last respects for slain separatist
leader Theys Eluay.

At the football field where he was buried under a hastily erected shelter,
with traditional carving on its pillars and a corrugated steel roof to keep
off the sun, a banner quoted Mr Eluay's own words.

"Let my body and blood become mulch for the struggle for an independent
Papua," it read.

At least 10,000 mourners attended. Among them were representatives of local
police, who kept a discreet presence during the event. The banned Morning
Star flag was everywhere to be seen, over Mr Eluay's coffin and flying
defiantly around it. No action was taken to stop it.

Yet the ceremony did not pass without controversy. It was briefly held up as
a group of Papuans from other areas demanded the members of the separatist
Papuan Presidium Council, which Mr Eluay chaired, give an account to them.
There has been frustration at the presidium's failure to get results since it
was appointed at a Papuan Congress last year.

There was also friction over how and where the murdered leader should be
buried. Dani tribesmen from the remote Baliem valley had offered to mummify
him, a traditional practice there for great chiefs. Others wanted him buried
at the provincial legislature, where he long sat as a legislator and where
his body briefly lay in state after it was discovered last Sunday.

In the end, his family's wishes were followed. He was buried in traditional
lands of the Sentani people, of whom he was chief.

Mr Eluay's former deputy Thom Beanal vowed Mr Eluay's death would not mean
the end of the independence struggle.

Agence France-Presse
November 17, 2001

10,000 mourners bury Irian Jaya pro-independence leader

[The date in paragraph should be November 10, not September 10.]

About 10,000 people, some delirious with grief, gathered peacefully for the
funeral of Irian Jaya independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay, who died
mysteriously last week.

Mourners staged a two-hundred meter (yard) procession from Eluay's home on
Saturday, some 50 kilometers (32 miles) west of the provincial capital
Jayapura, to a soccer field where the charismatic leader was buried.

The emotional crowds sang religious hymns as Eluay's body was laid to rest in
the field, which has been redesignated a "Papuan Heroes" cemetery.

Members of the pro-independence Papua Task Force militia carried Eluay's
coffin, which was draped in the secessionist Morning Star flag. A tribal rite
was performed before the procession.

The throngs, many of whom had come from other regions in the sprawling
province bordering Papua New Guinea, showered the coffin with flowers. Many
mourners shed tears and screamed: "Father, don't leave us behind."

Papua is the name that independence activists use for Indonesia's easternmost
province, the scene of sporadic separatist unrest for decades.

Residents climbed trees and roofs of their homes to catch a glimpse of the
ceremony, which was attended by senior officials from the local government,
police and military.

"We thank God that the ceremony went peacefully. We have passed a critical
moment," Reverend Herwan Awom, a member of the pro-independence Papua
Presidium which Eluay had headed before his death, told AFP.

In his funeral message, the deputy chief of the presidium, Tom Beanal, called
on the United Nations to hold a referendum on self-determination in Irian
Jaya.

Security was tight with police deployed along the road leading to Eluay's
home, checking visitors who wanted to attend the ceremony. Many had feared
violence would erupt during the funeral.

The province was on top military alert against possible rioting, the state
Antara news agency reported.

Eluay, 64, who was the chieftain of the Sentani tribe, went missing on his
way home on September 10 from a military ceremony. His driver, who is still
missing, told the family in a brief telephone call that they had been
abducted by a group of non-Irianese.

The Jayapura police chief, Senior Commissioner Daud Sihombing, said he had
been informed that Eluay's driver was alive but that his whereabouts were
still unknown.

Eluay's body was found the following day in his crashed car. The face was
darkened and the tongue was sticking out.

The national police have described the death as "unnatural" and sent
investigators to the remote province. Rights groups have described the death
as an assassination.

Eluay and four other members of the presidium had been on trial on charges of
subversion for demanding independence.

The group had rejected Jakarta's decision to grant the resource-rich province
greater autonomy, as had the Free Papua Movement which has been waging a
low-level guerrilla war.

The autonomy law, which takes effect next month, renames the province Papua.
It will have its own flag and anthem and will keep between 70 and 80 percent
of revenues from its natural riches.

Rebels, sometimes using primitive weapons including bows and arrows, have
been fighting sporadically for an independent Melanesian state since the
former Dutch colony became an Indonesian province in 1963.

Independence supporters say a 1969 UN-sponsored plebiscite, which reaffirmed
Indonesian sovereignty over Irian Jaya, was flawed.

Nov. 11, 2001: Abducted Papuan separatist leader found dead

[This criminal act which is likely to have profound political repercussions
in Papua, appears to have been deliberately perpetrated in order to plunge
Papua into a state of confusion and unrest. The international community
should take action to impress upon the Indonesian government to need for an
immediate investigation into the premeditated kidnap and murder of Papua's
foremost pro-independence figure. TAPOL]

JAKARTA (JP): Papuan separatist leader Theys Hiyo Eulay was found dead in his
abandoned car near the Papua New Guinea border on Sunday, less than 24 hours
after his reported abduction, Antara reported.

Theys, who was undergoing a trial for his separatist campaign in a court in
Jayapura, was found inside his Kijang car on the road near the border town
of Skouw, an Antara reporter said.

Marks of wounds were found around his wrists and there was dry blood on his
body, the reporter said, adding that police and investigators were already
on the scene.

Some of the car windows were shattered and the car appeared to have hit a
tree and stopped 50 meter short of a ravine.

Theys, the chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council, had been on trial along
with three other presidium members, on charges of subversion.

They were accused of fanning separatist sentiments when they organized a
massive congress in April last year (sic, May-June) in which they demanded
a referendum for self determination for the people in Irian Jaya, or Papua as the territory is now unofficially called.

Although on trial, the four were not under police arrest. The court trial
had been scheduled to resume on Monday.

The House of Representatives in Jakarta last month passed a new law granting
sweeping autonomy for Papua. But many separatist leaders said the law was
not enough and they insisted on independence from Jakarta.

Theys was traveling from Jayapura, capital of the province, to Sentani some
45 km when he was abducted by a group of unidentified men on Saturday night.
His driver, who was dumped by the kidnapers, reported the abduction to his
wife, who in turn notified the police

STATEMENT ISSUED ON 20 OCTOBER 2001 BY THE PAPUAN PRESIDIUM COUNCIL

The Papuan Presidium Council (PDP) and the Chair and Secretary-General of the
Panel of the Papuan Presidium Council held a meeting in Kotaraja on 19 and 20
October. The meeting discussed the following agenda items: Implementation of
the People's Mandate, Intensification of Military Operations and Armed
Resistance which has resulted in Human Rights Abuses, the Basic Rights of the
Papuan People, the Intentions of the Central Government with regard to
Special Autonomy for Papua, and the PDP Strategy towards these issues and regarding the Rectification of History.

The Papuan Consultative Assembly and the Second Papuan Congress in 2000 gave a mandate to the Papuan Presidium Council, thereby making it the lawful and representative body of the Papuan people, at home and abroad, in the struggle to uphold their basic rights, including their civil and political rights, by peaceful means, while giving priority to a Dialogue to Rectify History, nationally and internationally.

As holder of the Mandate of the Papuan People, the meeting issued the
following statement:

1. The Papuan People express their deep appreciation to the leaders and
people of the member states of the Pacific Islands Forum for their solidarity
and support for the Papuan people's struggle for the restoration of their
political rights and sovereignty by peaceful means. The Papuan people also
urge the Dutch Government, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, the
Government of the United States of America and the United Nations to honestly
and responsibly reconsider their role in the political conspiracy against the
status of the land of Papua (Dutch New Guinea or West Irian).

2. For 36 years, the National Liberation Army Free Papua Organisation
(TPN/OPM) has conducted a guerrilla struggle in the bush for an Independent
Papua in keeping with the innermost yearnings of the people of the land of
Papua. While expressing the highest respect for their struggle, we call for an
end to armed confrontation and to work together to press for peaceful efforts
through political dialogue in the struggle for the Political Rights and
Sovereignty of the Papuan nation.

3. We most earnestly call upon the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Police of the Republic of Indonesia (Polri) who have made it a habit of using repressive military operations to stop these military operations. These operations have resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths among the Papuan people. The land of Papua is no longer a Military Operations Zone. The TNI/Polri should adopt a different approach which is humane, which respects the dignity of the Papuan people and their basic rights and should actively strive to resolve the Papuan political conflict by means of a just and democratic political dialogue.

4. The Central Government has now given its full support for Special
Autonomy, after the Papuan People demanded the restoration of their political
rights and sovereignty. But this will not promote a comprehensive, peaceful
solution to the Papuan political conflict. The Indonesian Government is
trying to impose this social contract. It has not only ignored the aspirations of
the Papuan people but, with the arrogance of those in power, it has shown no
understanding of the real substance of the Papuan question and has forced
through the wishes of those in power. The enactment of the law on Special
Autonomy is yet another example of the way in which the fate of the Papuan
people has been decided by others, just as happened with the New York
Agreement of 1962 and the People's Consultation in 1969. Bearing in mind this political tragedy, the Papuan people urge the Central Government, the Parliament (DPR), the Regional Government and the Regional Assembly (DPRD) to ensure that all political decisions that relate to the fate of the Papuan people should be based on wishes and sovereignty of the Papuan people. The Papuan Council
herewith declares that it firmly rejects Special Autonomy for Papua and will
wage a peaceful and democratic struggle for the restoration of the political
rights and sovereignty of the Papuan people. Development is the right of the
people and the responsibility of the government and must be implemented in
full accord with the political aspirations of the people. Throughout their
struggle, the Papuan people have never demanded Special Autonomy. What they demand is a
Dialogue on the Rectification of History, and acknowledgement of legal and
political rights for the land and people of Papua.

5. The Papuan people deeply regret the Indonesian Government's policy of
discrimination. In the case of Aceh, it continues to seek dialogue while
rejecting peaceful dialogue with the Papuan people. Ever since the Papuan
Consultative Assembly and the Second Papuan Congress of 2000, the Papuan
people have consistently called for Political Dialogue between the Papuan people and
the government of the Republic of Indonesia. The Indonesian government must
explain the background and the reason for the discrimination in its approach
towards the political conflicts in Aceh and Papua.

6. The Papuan people regard the arrest and trial of the Presidium and
Papuan Council Panel members who have been accused of rebellion as a legal
process aimed at the entire Papuan people. The Papuan people support all
efforts to uphold the supremacy of the law but, for the sake of justice, the
Indonesian government must show a greater will and more actively push for the
resolution of the Papuan question by political means, in step with actions to
arrest and put on trial the Papuan people.

7. We call upon the entire Papuan people to resist all forms of
provocation and the policy of divide and rule and to do everything in their power to strengthen the unity of the people in the spirit of Papuan nationalism. Based
on this awareness, the Papuan Council calls on all sectors of society to be
pro-active in ensuring consolidation and conciliation in the spirit of One
Nation One Soul. All Papuans must restrain themselves and avoid doing
anything that could lead to people discrediting each other, because the struggle to
restore the political rights and sovereignty of the Papuan people is a noble
struggle based on the aspirations of all the sons and daughters of the land of
Papua.

Jayapura, 20 October 2001

On behalf of the Papuan Presidium Council:

Theys Hiyo Eluay

Rev. Herman Awom, S. Th
Moderator

Thaha Mohammad Alhamid,
Secretary-General

HOTSPOTS OF VIOLENCE AND BRUTALITY EMERGING IN MANY PARTS OF WEST PAPUA

Report prepared by TAPOL on the basis of information received on 19 October
2001 from ELS-HAM, the Jayapura-based Institute for Human Rights Study and
Advocacy.

While the situation in Wasior (Manokwari district) continues to
deteriorate, there are clear indications of a wave of brutality by the
security forces in other parts of West Papua. In some cases the brutality
has been sparked by actions from the TPN, (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional),
the armed wing of the OPM but the brunt of the brutality is felt by civilians.

[Note: the army's regional command in Jayapura, under its commander
Major-General Mahidin Simbolon, has concocted a new name for the TPN, 'KSB'
which stands for 'kelompok separatis bersenjata' or 'armed separatist
gang', insisting that there can only be one army in the territory, the TNI.]

Ilaga, Central Highlands
Following three days of clashes between the TPN/OPM and the security forces
(TNI and the Indonesian police), a number of extra troops were flown into
Ilaga where they have been behaving very brutally towards the local
population. As a result, local people, including non-Papuans, have fled to
sub-distrct Simak in the district of Mulia. ELS-HAM sources report that all
the villages in the sub-district of Ilaga are now occupied by army and
police, and a number of school buildings and churches have been burnt down,
along with all their contents.

According to this report, the events leading up to the three-day clash in
Ilaga were as follows:

On 25 September, a TPN/OPM unit led by Titus Murib, while on patrol from
their base in Desa Pinapi , met up with a man from Desa Kuyawagi who
suggested that they go and seize weapons from a TNI base in Ilaga, so as to
increase their own supply of weapons. They followed his advice.

Three days later, on 28 September a police office named Harun was attacked
while on his way home from prayers and his weapon was seized. The Kimmak
village head who saw this happen threw a rock at one of the TPN men
involved in the attack, hitting TPN member Ikiapik Murip in the back. He
fell to the ground and his two colleagues fled. Members of the local police
force and army command, Koramil, came to the scene and shot Ikaipik Murip
dead as he lay on the ground.

The news of Murip's death spread through the area, leading to three days of
clashes between forces of the TPN/OPM and the security forces. The security
forces then called in reinforcements from Nabire and Timika, after
spreading (false) reports that three of their men had been killed. The
reports led to a lull in the fighting, but when the TPN men realised that
the reports were false, they responded by burning down local government
offices.

We were informed in an earlier comment by a local Catholic police that
feelings in the area were already running high because assurances that had
been given by the security forces when two Belgian hostages were released
some weeks earlier had been breached.

On 1 October, additional troops were dropped in the area by helicopter. As
they were landing at Amunggarub in Ilaga, the troops opened fire, injuring
a local man. After landing, nearby houses were destroyed and livestock were
shot dead. Many of the local people fled. One TPN member, Das Kokoya, was
shot dead but his body has not been found.

Wamena town tense
After a local man named Thomas Hubi, 35, was shot dead, normal life in the
town came to a standstill, with shops closing and no one seen on the
streets. Armed troops were out in force.

An ELS-HAM local contact reports that the victim was shot in the mouth and
the bullet exited through his brain. A plea by the victim's family to the
local police to investigagte the murder has not been heeded.

Angered by the lack of any investigation, the victim's family said they
wanted to take action but were prevailed on not to do this by the local
ELS-HAM volunteer.

ELS-HAM in Jayapura has warned that any delay in police action following
this murder could result in retaliatory action against the police and cause
new problems in Wamena, a year after the Wamena Tragedy of 6 October 2000.

Arrests of 7 TPN members in Kali Kopi, Timika
Following a report in The Jakarta Post on Friday that seven members of
TPN/OPM had been captured by the army in Kali Kopi, Timika, the local press
has reported that two of the seven men were taken to hospital under heavy
guard. One of the men, AW, is known to have undergone an operation but the
nature of his condition is not known. Tight security surrounds the two men
in hospital.

The other men are reported to be under investigation and are likely to face
charges connected with possessing weapons. One TPN member, John Magai, was
shot dead when the seven men were arrested, and five soldiers were killed,
according to an ELS-HAM source.

People attending a funeral feared dead in Kampung Pama, near Timika
Meanwhile, a church source in Timika told ELS-HAM on 16 October that troops
based in Timika involved in operations in Kali Kopi surrounded Kampung Pama
in the village of Nagaro, Kali Kopi, 6 kms east of Timika. It is feared
that some inhabitants of the village have been shot dead.

The source reports that on 14 October, a large crowd of people from Timika
travelled in a number of vehicles to Kampung Pama to attend the funeral of
an acquaintance, Anderaes Koyoga, 35, who had died following a snake bite.
Before leaving Timika, they had made their intentions known to the local
police and had been given the go-ahead to make the journey.

However, on the following day, while a large crowd of mourners was gathered
in Kampung Pama, the area was surrounded and attacked the security forces.
Three people, including one woman, managed to escape the encirclement and
say that they fear that some people were shot dead during the operation.

The area is now sealed off making it impossible for church officials and
humanitarian activists to monitor the situation. A church official in
Timika has appealed to the regional commander, Major-General Simbolon to
withdraw his men and allow church officials to enter.

TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign

Gus Dur to testify in court

October 17, 2001

R.K. Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid is scheduled to appear at the
Jayapura District Court on Oct. 22, 2001, to give testimony on behalf of
several executives of the Papuan Council Presidium (PDP) who have been
charged with subversion.

A team of lawyers who accompanied the defendants in the subversion case, said
they had gained confirmation from the former president that the latter would
testify in court.

"We have met with Gus Dur at his residence in Jakarta and he has confirmed
his readiness to testify. Gus Dur will arrive in the city on Oct. 22 from
Bangkok, where he is scheduled to deliver a speech during a seminar on
international terrorism," Latifah Anom Siregar, coordinator of the lawyers
team, said upon arrival here from Jakarta over the weekend.

Gus Dur is to give testimony in connection with his Rp 1 billion contribution
for the Dec. 1, 2000 Papuan People's Congress in the city.

Aside from Gus Dur, Bambang Wijoyanto, director of the Foundation of
Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) and former Irian Jaya deputy governor
Djopari, will also appear as witnesses in the court session. Bambang is to
testify as an expert witness while Djopari is to testify to the court in
relation to his role of granting permission for the congress to be held.

Theys Hiu Eluay, PDP chairman, Thaha Al Hamid, PDP secretary-general, Don A.
Flassy, chairman of the Independent Youth Organization, Rev. Herman Awom and
John Mambor, a PDP member, are facing life imprisonment for their alleged
involvement in the movement to incite the Papuan people to fight for the
province's independence.

The congress had sparked clashes between PDP supporters and local riot police
leaving scores of police personnel and civilians injured. At least six people
were killed in a bloody clash between proindependence Papuans and security
personnel in Merauke a day after the congress.

The defendants appreciated Gus Dur's willingness to provide testimony to the
court.

"For the Papuan people, Gus Dur is not only a statesman but also an
intellectual who has a special place in the hearts of the Papuan people,"
Thaha Al Hamid, PDI secretary-general, said.

Paul Barber
TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign

The following is the text of the letter to Mary Robinson, drafted at the
Second West Papua Solidarity in Germany, held in Neuendettelsau from 15 -
17 October 2001.

Mary Robinson,
United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights,
Geneva,
Switzerland

16th October 2001

Petion against Human Rights Abuses of West Papuan People
by the Indonesian Military and by the Indonesian Police Force

Your Excellency,

We, the delegates attending the Second International Solidarity
Conference on West Papua held in Neuendettelsau, Germany, from 15-17th
October 2001, wish to express our alarm at the continuing human rights
violations committed by the Indonesian military and police in West Papua.
Most specifically, we call for the ongoing military and police operations
in Wasior subdistrict of Manokwari and Ilaga in the Central Highlands to be
halted immediately. These operations are causing great suffering, and loss
of life and property. We are particularly concerned about the savety of
human rights defenders, who have been threatened and prevented from
carrying out their work. We strongly condemn the pressure being exerted on
the local media for reporting human rights abuses. We urge you to impress
upon the Indonesian government the need to convene a Human Rights Courts in
Makasar, to consider the crimes against humanity committed by the police in
Abepura in December 2000. We call on you to consider sending the Special
Rapporteurs for Extra-judicial Killings, Torture, and Freedom of
Expression, and the Working Group on Arbitary Detention to West Papua as
soon as possible.

TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign
111 Northwood Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon CR7 8HW, UK.
tel +44 020 8771 2904 fax +44 020 8653 0322
tapol@gn.apc.org www.gn.apc.org/tapol

Secret operation launched to undermine and destroy the pro-independence
movement in West Papua

October 12, 2001

TAPOL

It can now be revealed that top-ranking Indonesian government officials and
military and police intelligence agencies were so disturbed by the stunning
success and political impact of the Grand Congress held in Jayapura last
year that led to the creation of the Papuan Presidium Council (PPC), that
they conspired to launch a counter-intelligence operation to undermine and
destroy all pro-independence activities in West Papua.

The plan was put into operation in June 2000, initially for a six-month
period, to be following by a second phase.

(We also have received leaked copies of documents from the police force in
Irian Jaya to the chief of the Indonesian police, marked 'Secret' and dated
November 2000, which contain operational plans of the provincial police 'to
handle the activities of the separatist Free Papuan movement in order to
uphold the law'. We hope to be able to produce a summary of the contents of
these documents in due course.)

Much that has happened in West Papua especially since October 2000 when
provocative actions by the police in Wamena in the central highlands led to
a major incident during