MISNA - Missionary Service News Agency, 5/2/2003 13:55
Papua: 'Kopassus' Officer Admits, "One Of My Soldiers Killed
Independence Leader Eluay"
Politics/Economy, Standard
An officer of the notorious 'Kopassus' special forces, for the first time admitted that
one of his soldiers killed the Papuan independence leader Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo
Eluay. In the first public admission that the military was behind the killing of Papuan
independence leader, an Indonesian army officer, Lt. Col. Hartomo, told a court
martial on Wednesday that one of his men strangled the politician.
Theys Hiyo Eluay was abducted by unidentified men on 10 November 2001 and his
body was found the following morning in Koya, close to the border with Papua New
Guinea. Lt-Colonel Hartomo told the tribunal in Surabaya that one of his subordinates,
Private Ahmad Zulfahmi, asphyxiated Mr Eluay after failing to convince him to drop
plans to seek independence for the restive Indonesian province.
The death of Mr Eluay, who led a peaceful independence campaign, sharply increased
the distrust felt by Papuans towards Indonesian security forces, which are often
viewed as occupiers. It also prompted foreign activists to intensify their push for an
independent Papua.
According to the reconstruction of Col. Hartomo, the homicidal rage of Zulfahmi
exploded because he failed to convince 'Theys' to abandon the project of an
independent Papua from Indonesia. But when Mr Eluay resisted their pleas, Private
Zulfahmi tried to silence the screaming politician by putting a hand over his mouth. Mr
Eluay was alive and alone in his car when the soldiers drove off, testified the second
defendant Lt Supriyanto.
The day after, Zulfahmi reported to his superior and telling him what had happened.
Hartomo, who is one of the 7 accused for the 'Eluay' case, confirmed that he has
nothing to do with the murder. On the night that 'Theys' was killed, he had attended a
dinner hosted by the Indonesian army's special forces unit in Jayapura, administrative
capital of Papua.
Former Dutch colony, later administered by Jakarta following a provisional accord
signed in 1963 under the aegis of the United Nations, West Papua (at the time called
Irian Barat or West Irian) passed definitively under Indonesian sovereignty in 1969 with
a referendum labelled as a "farce" by independence activists. Since then the region is
torn by separatist rebellion of the OPM (Movement for Free Papua), strongly
repressed in the 70's and 80's by the Indonesian military. [BP]
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