More on the Murder of Theys Eluay, Chairperson of the Presidium of the Papua Council,

on Heroes Day, 10 November 2001, in Jayapura, West Papua

Rev Dr At Ipenburg
The Netherlands
Tuesday, 12 March 2002,
The KPN, the special national investigation commission, set up by President Megawati,
is now on the track of investigating not only the brains behind the murder, but also
possibilities of government departments or army sections which ordered the murder.
Elsham will come with a detailed report by the middle of this month.
The judge in the court session against three PDP (Presidium Dewan Papua or Presidum of the
Papua Council) members pronounced them guilty of high treason (makar), which carries a
minimum sentence of 20 years. The judge said, according to the Cenderawasih Pos, that he
would not give a punishment because these acts of treason, the organization of Mubes
(Musyawarah Besar or Great Consultation) and Second Papua Congress, took place in public
with support from the police, the army, including the Pangdam (Panglima Daerah Militer or the
Commander of the Military Region of Papua and the Moluccas) and the Indonesian
Government. This is the reason why, though guilty of the offence, they will not be sentenced
(tidak dipidana). This is different from an acquittal (pembebasan). The difference between
one and the other is important.
The Jakarta Post mentions, wrongly, that the three defendants have been acquitted:
Papuan leaders cleared off all charges
R.K. Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
[From: www.thejakartapost.com 5 March 2002]
A district court in the easternmost province of Papua acquitted on Monday three proindependence leaders of the Papua Presidium Council, who had been tried on charges of
subversion.
What does this mean? If the judge would have guts he should bring the army, police and the
Government to court for high treason. But the definition of high treason excludes such
possibilities and also the law. The verdict may also imply that in the past the previous
Government, that of Gus Dur, was wrong in allowing the Papua Congress, the Morning Star flag
and the PDP. The present Government, of Megawati, takes it seriously and now these actions
are really high treason. So the PDP may have to be disbanded. It also means that the three who
are now convicted still have to be considered criminals who have committed a very serious
crime. It may have for instance a negative effect on the career of Don Flassy, who is secretary of
Bappeda.
Another problem with the verdict is that if this becomes jurisprudence it will lead to a very
undesirable situation. The murderers of Theys are brought to court. The judge says on the basis
of this verdict: We declare you guilty but there is no sentence as you have done this with the
connivance of the Government, the police and the army!
The defendants should appeal, just as the public prosecutors
Some more details about Theys Eluay
(in response to comments on my article about the murder of Theys Eluay in Inside Indonesia of
April 2002):
Theys took the show serious, when he went to court sessions or when he was called by the
police to present himself. He usually went there with three truckloads of black shirted Satgas
Papua (Satuan Tugas or Taskforce), bravely waving the Morning Star flag. This outfit had little to
do with adat. He wore a small cap with a feather and shorts; He was bare breasted, with some
neck chains. He looked more like an American Indian or a hippy of the 1960s than a traditional
Sentani leader, whos traditional clothing was made of bark cloth.
Rev Herman Awom, vice president of the Evangelical Christian Church, gave away a similar
show. He went in December 2000 in his ministerial gown to the police, with the Bible in his

hand, to be imprisoned, accompanied by the members of his church council. Also in court
sessions he would wear his gown and was then dressed in a very similar way as his judge. The
judge, who is a Christian, did not like this at all and went in person to the private residence of the
president of the Synod, Rev Herman Saud, to ask from him to forbid Rev Awom from doing this.
The business links of Theys Eluay still have to be researched. George Aditjiondro found a link
between Yorris Raweyai, leader of the pro Soeharto group Pemuda Pancasila, and one of the
main donors of the Kopassus. None of my sources have mentioned Theys' involvement in
business. He is not known as being rich, like for instance Bas Suebu, the former governor. The
main issue, I think, is the source of funding of the Satgas Papua of Theys, and the funding of
Theys many foreign journeys. These trips aborad were give much publicity in the Cenderawasih
Pos, but they did not have any concrete result. Yorris offered the money at a time when the
Soeharto family had money available to create chaos in the country to prevent a trial of
Soeharto. Aftar the visit of the Tim Seratus (The Team of 100) to Habibie in February 1999 in the
context of the national dialogue between the Papuans and the national Government, Theys
Eluay all of a sudden proclaimed himself of his own, as the Great Leader of Papua People
(Pemimpin Besar Bangsa Papua, which has the same initials as the United Nations in
Indonesian). He then also appointed, again without consulting anybody, Yorris Raweyai as the
representative of the Dewan Adat Papua outside Irian Jaya (Papua).
The murder of Theys is different from previous murders because of his role in the struggle of the
Papuans, at least as it is perceived by the foreign media and by foreign governments. Murders
by the security forces in Papua usually are an uncomplicated story. For instance, the murder
on 26 March 1999 of Obed, a Me (Paniai) lecturer of Fajar Timur did not lead to protest outside
the Me community and the community of students of the Catholic Theological College, where he
was teaching. Obed was well educated with a Masters degree from Washington University.
Nobody had at the time any idea why he was murdered. A journalist for Kompas, also from
Paniai, Octavianus Mote, who was doing research on the case was threatened and had to flee.
He is now in America. Two witnesses were also eliminated and the third fled for his life. On 27
February 2001 a minister from Kampung Harapan, Robert Ongge, 33 year old, was shot dead in
broad daylight by police in the shop of his in-laws in Abepura. He had studied theology in
Yogyakarta and had, after his graduation, worked for years in Jakarta, where he had married a
Chinese woman. He had two children. He had just returned from Jakarta when he was killed.
The perpetrators were never brought to court. The police commander said his men shot because
they were still young and inexperienced. All these killing were "uncomplicated, that is, they went
unnoticed by the international community. There are several similar cases.
The disappearance of the driver
There were people, using cars and motorcycles, with red number plates (i.e. government owned
vehicles) searching for Ari after his disappearance. Cars and motorcycles went at nighttime
along the small dirt road alongside the house of the parents of Ari at Kampung Harapan. There
are, however, five witnesses who have seen Ari enter the Kopassus headquarters in Hamadi,
which, by the way, is at the same place as a logging company owned by the Soeharto family.
People, and also his parents, fear that Ari is dead.
I have been wondering why Ari did go to the Kopassus. He could have sensed that they were
the perpetrators. Could it be that he considered the Kopassus troops his friends? Ari's father
has, reputedly, worked five or ten years for the Kopassus.
There had been several stories going on about possible motives of the murderers. But these
theories were drawing attention away from who, from the beginning, were seen as the real
perpetrators. Cenderawasih Pos interviewed some young and pretty TV and movie stars in
Jakarta who revealed that they were very close to "Om" Theys, implying that women could be a
factor in the murder. Kopassus had spread, before the murder photos of Theys with naked girls.
Yaneke Ohee did not like this and she found consolation with four Kopassus, who gave her
personal counciling. They took their meals and they spend the night in Theys' house when he
was away in Jakarta or Timika. The main thrust of the story of Elsham is that the murder was
organized at the instigation of elements in the central government, that wanted to maintain
national unity, whatever the costs.

The role of the Satgas Papua, an initiative of Theys

There were different types of Satgas. Theys had Satgas, many from the Tanah Merah area of
Demta and Depapre. I have not noticed any tribalism with them. I have also not heard that
Papuans were intimidated by Satgas. It is true that Papuans, Satgas and non-Satgas have been
pestering shopkeepers, asking for free cigarettes and money to buy a drink. They focused in
particular on those shopkeepers who did not give job opportunities to Papuans. One's basic
attitude towards Papuans at that time could make the difference between having ones shop
burnt down or not. It is clear that the Satgas Papua never enjoyed the impunity the army and
police continue to have.
The Satgas Papua never formed a serious threat to the migrants (pendatang). The
"pendatang" can roughly be divided into three groups. One group is the transmigrants that
receive a plot of land with a title deed and a house in a remote place. Most of them are Muslim
and they remain poor. They live in a kind of enclave, protected by the army. They live too far
from town and are too poor to become a factor in the equation of the struggle for the
emancipation of the Papuans. The urban migrants can be divided into two groups: Muslims and
Christians. The Papuans have not much difficulty with the Christian migrants who come from
areas where they themselves are a threatened minority like Ambon, Saparoa, Tanimbar, the Kei
islands, West Timor, Flores, Minahasa, Toraja and the Batak areas. These migrants understand
the feelings of the Papuans well and are even willing to show solidarity with them. The largest
groups of Christian urban migrants are the Torajas of middle Sulawesi and the Menadonese of
north Sulawesi with the Ambonese of the Moluccas coming third. The Christian migrants share
their wealth with the Papuans in their contributions to the Church. Some take the biblical
demand that they should share 10 % of their wealth literally! I estimate that one half to two third
of the income of the largest church in West Papua, the GKI, comes from congregations
dominated by migrants. Half of this money is channeled back to the poor presbyteries of
Papuans in the interior. These Christian migrants know that the strange logic of spy war could
mean that they become the first targets, not of the Papuans, but of the provocateurs, the militias
etc. to drive a wedge between them and the Papuans. In this game they should be forced to
show solidarity with their Muslim compatriots from Indonesia against the primitive and
dangerous Papuans.
The migrants have remained firmly in control all the time. Only 3 % of the Papuans are in
government service. 80 % of the army and police consist of non-Papuans. There is only one
Papua judge. Very few Papuans occupy any of the top posts outside the church. Posts like bank
manager, head of Bappeda, Dandrim, Kapolda, Kapolres, and Pangdam are occupied by, in
most cases, Muslim immigrants. There are hardly any Papuan shopkeepers. There are no
Papuan garage owners, owners of carpenter's shop, blacksmiths, repair shops, VCD rental
shops and so on. Even the flesh trade (prostitution, massage, karaoke, bars) does not employ
Papua girls. Papuan women have the pinang street trade, but not exclusively. The women also
sell palm wine (saguer). Young Papuan men are now seen earning some money as parking
attendants. This brings in Rp 1,000 for each parked car. This is for them a lot of money. These
parking attendants are the last memory of the Satgas Papua, who once claimed the streets of
the towns back for the Papuans. But in the economy in Papua Province these economic
activities remain very marginal.
The amazing thing is, in fact, that the Satgas were, generally speaking, nonviolent. It could have
been quite different. There always was the understanding among Papuans that the Papuan
struggle was to be peaceful. It was in fact a religious struggle, comparable to that of the
Israelites who were led by Moses out of the bondage of Egypt. Theys and the other PDP leaders
over and over stressed the non-violence character of the Papuan struggle for freedom. Those
Papuans who may have wanted violence were accused of being traitors to the Papuan case,
hired "provocateurs.
I see the Papuans in the first place as victims. There is a very high death rate. The educational
and health services are very poor and the migrants benefit disproportionately from the
government services in health and education. The aggression is elsewhere. The police is never
eager to find the murderers if the victim is a Papua. Almost every year a Papuan is killed in the
pasar (covered market) Sentani, that is dominated and run almost exclusively by migrants. Only
in one case there was retaliation by Papuans. The three Papua murderers of a Buginese ojek

(motor cycle taxi) driver were sentenced and imprisoned The police said that they could not find
the Buginese murderer of the Papuan man as he had gone back to Makassar!
On Saturday 10 November 2001 the Kopassus celebrated Heroes Day at their barracks in
Hamadi. The people who were invited had some link with the integration of Irian into Indonesia in
1963. According to people present at the party for the "heroes" of Irian Jaya, the commander of
the Kopassus got his microphone and said loudly goodbye to Theys when he wanted to leave
around 10 o'clock in the evening. "Goodbye to the Great Leader of the Papuans. Have a safe
journey home!" Now people feel that this was to warn his men outside to be ready. A few days
after the abduction and murder Kopassus soldiers were seen cleaning the place of the abduction
in Skyline very thoroughly, apparently to remove any evidence of their involvement in the
kidnapping and murder of Theys Eluay.
I see it as a form of Papuan creativity to turn a very bad thing into something different. It was
argued that Theys should be buried near the DPR on the waterfront of Jayapura. Then some
coined the idea to have a Papuan Heroes Acre, just like the Indonesian army has in Abepura,
next to the military prison. Arnold Ap and Thomas Wanggay should also be reburied on the
Papuan Heroes Acre. So Theys was buried on a football field, owned by the Eluay family, close
to Sentani airport, in a very big ceremony. The government in Jakarta cannot be very happy to
see so prominently the elaborate grave of Theys, decorated with Morningstar flags, at night
illuminated with numerous lamps. It is clearly visible for everybody who enters Jayapura by
plane, as it is just at the junction of the airport road and the main road to Jayapura.
The Morning star flag also still flies defiantly, half-mast, at the house of Theys in Sentani, now
without the Indonesian flag.
Appendix:
Interview of Al Hamid by Radio Nederland (Thaha Al Hamid, a Muslim Papuan from Fak-Fak, is,
like Theys Eluay, member of the Presidium Dewan Papua (PDP), elected by the participants of
the Papua Congress in the year 2000)
Thaha : Perbuatan Itu Tidak Dapat Dipidana
Pengadilan Negeri Jayapura membebaskan tiga orang tersangka makar kongres Papua. Salah
satu alasan putusan Hakim ini karena kongres itu dijalankan sepengetahuan pemerintah,
Kapolda, Panglima dan pemerintah daerah. Kami menghubungi Sekjen Presidium Dewan
Papua, Thaha Al Hamid dan menanyakan apa tanggapannya terhadap putusan hakim ini.
Thaha Al Hamid [TAH] : Dalam Amar putusan Hakim tidak memakai istilah dibebaskan tetapi
tidak dapat dipidana karena biarpun unsur makar dalam perkara itu seperti perbuatan berlanjut,
perbuatan bersama-sama semuanya terbukti secara syah dan meyakinkan. Namun hakim
berkeyakinan bahwa perbuatan itu tidak dapat dipidana karena dilakukan atas sepengetahuan
dan ijin bahkan bantuan pemerintah pusat maupun pemerintah Papua. Kami melihat bahwa ini
memberikan keyakinan pada rakyat Papua bahwa peaceful dialogue yang selama ini menjadi
pendekatan, itu telah terbukti lebih baik dan terbukti menjadi sebuah pendekatan yang
bermartabat.
Radio Nederland [RN] : Jadi anda tida puas dengan putusan ini ya, karena tidak dinyatakan
benar-benar bebas?
TAH : Oh tidak, justeru keputusan Majelis Hakim Jayapura ini sungguh-sungguh keputusan
yang sangat berani. Karena kali ini Majelis tidak lagi memakai pendekatan-pendekatan
konvensional tapi Majelis justeru melihat bahwa biarpun toh unsur-unsur makar terlihat dalam
peristiwa itu akan tetapi bagaimana itu bisa dikatakan makar apabila pemerintah terlibat, apabila
pemerintah memberikan bantuan satu milyard, apabila pengibaran bendera itu melalui
pembicaraan resmi dengan Kapolda dan Panglima. Yang ini oleh hakim akhirnya dijadikan
bahan pertimbangan dan dinyatakan bahwa atas perbuatan itu maka tidak dapat dipidana. Saya
kira ini sebuah Ijtihad hukum yang sangat baik sekali yang hakim di pengadilan negeri Jayapura
lakukan.
RN : Nah kalau dalam putusan yang sama Hakim itu mengatakan bahwa membebaskan para
tersangka makar. Maka mungkin dengan alasan yang sama bisa membuat pemerintah

kemudian juga tentara dan pihak-pihak yang menyelenggarakan kongres itu juga disebut makar
kan. Artinya bisa menjadikan mereka tersangka, dalam kasus ini. Menurut anda?
TAH : Benar, dengan pandangan Hakim seperti tadi, maka sebenarnya Hakim mau bertanya :
kalau yang ada di depan ini saya hukum lalu bagaimana dengan Presiden Gus Dur yang terlibat
memberikan bantuan, bagaimana dengan Kapolda dan Panglima yang memberikan ijin bagi
pengibaran bendera, bagaimana dengan pemerintah daerah yang memberikan bantuan pada
kongres baik itu bantuan bis, bantuan fasilitas dan seterusnya. Di sini soalnya apakah mereka
juga akan dilibatkan sebagai turut serta melakukan itu kejahatan terhadap negara? De facto
mereka tidak diajukan ke pengadilan. Sehingga hakim mengatakan bahwa semua perbuatan ini
dilakukan berdasarkan sepengetahuan pemerintah, ada ijin dan bahkan pemerintah
memberikan bantuan.
RN : Dalam rangka hari ulang tahun Kostrad, Panglima Kostrad Riyakudu di Jakarta
mengatakan bahwa Kostrad akan kembali kepada semangat Majapahit yaitu melibas habis
semua gerakan separatis. Kalau ini diterapkan kepada Papua, rasa-rasanya kok semangat
Majapahit ini tidak sesuai ya untuk Papua. Karena bagaimanapun dalam kasus Papua,
khususnya dalam kasus pembunuhan Tehys Eluay, tentara kan terlibat dan bagaimana mungkin
pernyataan ini pas untuk Papua gitu?
TAH : Yang pertama jelas Papua tidak pernah terlibat dengan Majapahit. Majapahit itu masa lalu
ya, dan ingat bahwa dengan cara seperti itu maka Majapahit kemudian runtuh. Jadi 40 tahun
operasi militer dilakukan di Papua, toh tetap tidak ada hasil. Keputusan Pengadilan negeri hari
ini membuktikan bahwa ternyata pendekatan hukum juga tidak pernah ada hasil. Satu-satunya
pendekatan yang hari ini harus dimajukan adalah peaceful dialogue dan itu yang menjadi
tuntutan rakyat Papua.
Nah sehingga kalau pemerintah masih tetap menggunakan pendekatan konvensional, operasi
militer, pendekatan hukum, proses hukum, tangkap tahan dan adili ini menunjukan bahwa
pemerintah semakin tidak memiliki pilihan apa-apa, base concept untuk menyelesaikan
persoalan-persoalan Papua terutama karena perjuangan Papua adalah berjuang secara damai
dan bermartabat. Apakah pemerintah takut berdialog dengan orang Papua. Jadi saya kira itu
hanya akan mempercepat dan mengingatkan kita kembali bahwa pendekatan itu memang
dipakai oleh Majapahit tetapi dengan pendekatan itu juga Majapahit runtuh. Indonesia tidak bisa
lagi dipertahankan hanya dengan moncong senjata, dengan kekerasan, dengan sepatu lars,
tidak mungkin. (RN)