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Papua's pro-independence leader assassinated

State terrorism takes its toll

11 November 2001

TAPOL is profoundly shocked by the assassination yesterday of Theys Hiyo Eluay, the leader of the Papuan Presidium Council, the body which has emerged as Papua’s leading pro-independence organisation. The assassination is a criminal act which is likely to have profound political repercussions in Papua and appears to have been a premeditated move to plunge the Papuan people into a state of outrage and protest.

Theys Eluay’s body was found in his car in Holtekang, not far from the Papua New Guinea border. The wounds on his body make it clear that he had been tortured to death. The car was abandoned in circumstances that made it appear as though it had hit a tree.

Several hours before his body was discovered, the Papuan Presidium Council chairman was kidnapped on his way home from attending a ceremony on 10 November, at the headquarters of the Tribuana military command in Hamadi. His family and friends say he received a phone call that morning inviting him to attend the ceremony to mark Heroes’ Day. Shortly after commencing his homeward journey to Sentani, his vehicle was forced to stop by a group of men; the driver, Ari Masoka, was dragged out and beaten and the car was driven off with the Papuan leader inside. In a state of great distress, the driver was able to phone Eluay’s wife to inform her of the kidnap. It is not clear whether the driver has survived the attack.

The facts as at present known would appear to suggest that a trap had been laid by those who invited him to the ceremony in Hamadi, and that this was an military intelligence operation aimed at provoking the Papuan people into acts of protest and violence.

Many parts of Papua are currently submerged in what appear to be acts of deliberate provocation by the security forces. Massive sweeps and a number of killings have been occurring since March this year in Wasior, Manokwari, and more recently, villagers in Ilaga in the Central Highlands have fled their homes after troop reinforcements entered the area in October.

The assassination came just two weeks after the Indonesian parliament adopted a law on special autonomy for Papua. The Papuan Presidium Council (PDP) immediately issued a statement strongly rejecting the decision for having been taken without proper consultation with the Papuan people and saying it would continue to press for dialogue about Papua’s status. The adoption of the law confronted the PDP, the leading voice in favour of Papuan independence, with the need to respond in ways that would eschew violence.

The special autonomy law is known to have infuriated the security forces in Papua because it made concessions to Papuan demands by allowing the Papuan flag, Kejora, to be flown as a ‘cultural symbol’. Some weeks ago, Papua’s military commander, Major-General Mahidin Simbolon, said that the army could not accept the unfurling of any flag other than Indonesia’s national flag. The police are likely to reject the concession as well , as they are the ones who must deal with flag-raisers.

The next few days are likely to be extremely tense, as the Papuan leader’s body is returned to his home and his funeral takes place. Everything must be done to maintain calm and prevent any confrontations between the security forces and the people of Papua as they mourn the passing of Theys Eluay.

TAPOL calls on the government of Megawati Sukarnoputri to act without delay, by setting up a special commission independent of military interference to establish the facts of this political assassination and bring the perpetrators to justice. We call on governments around the world to press the Indonesian government to set up such a commission.

The Indonesian government must also call for an immediate halt to all military operations by the Indonesian armed forces in Papua and to order the armed forces to withdraw all extra troops sent into Papua.

It is the responsibility of the government of President Megawati to act immediately to restore calm in Papua and to call the security forces to account for this apparent act of state terrorism perpetrated by members of the security forces.

ENDS

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