Vaudine England – Theys Eluay is a loud man, in both his wardrobe and choice of political rhetoric. As a self-styled leader of the independence movement among Papuans in Irian Jaya, his career takes a new turn with his trial on subversion charges today.
His co-defendants are four other members of the Papua Presidium: Don Flassy, John Mabor, Reverend Herman Awom and Thaha Al-Hamid. But Eluay stands out, not least for his nominal leadership role. Whereas his colleagues might be called intellectuals, churchmen or activists, he is far harder to categorise.
Since his birth on November 12, 1937, into the leadership of the Sentani tribe, his career has been marked by massive contradictions. He was one of 1,000 chosen tribal elders who signed the "Act of Free Choice" in 1969 to make Irian Jaya an Indonesian province. It is that Act which is now the target of his and other Papuans' ire.
Eluay used to be a member of the provincial parliament for former president Suharto's Golkar Party. In November 1998, he announced that he was going to resign and would start a West Papuan Party, which has yet to materialise.
His support for Papuan independence has seen him periodically arrested and detained. Now he faces charges of subversion for leading the flag-raising ceremonies and independence calls of last December 1, which helped spark a broader military crackdown on the separatists.
Since then, however, the contradictions have been multiplying, and in some quarters, the scepticism about what are his true motives and goals has increased. While his presidium colleagues languished in a Jayapura jail until March, Eluay was flown to Jakarta in January for treatment of prostate cancer.
He managed to bring with him a large entourage of family and friends, who stayed in Jakarta hotels. He received guests and treatment, including three operations, at a Christian hospital.
But President Abdurrahman Wahid, who leads the Government that says Eluay is a traitor, has already promised to pardon his "good friend" if the subversion charges are proven. Controversially, he also gave US$10,600 for last year's People's Congress, which set up the pro-independence presidium under Eluay's leadership. Mr Wahid then went further by choosing to pay Eluay's medical and hotel bills.
Eluay claims thousands of supporters will be at the courthouse today to demonstrate their continuing belief in him. He had demanded the trial be held in the Hague, the Netherlands, and says he might flee to the former colonial power if the Indonesian prosecutors "make things difficult".
"If I am convicted and sentenced, I will overcome and I will win," he said. "I've never committed subversion. I've never fought the Government." A final note of contradiction comes from a spokesman for Eluay, who said he would return to Jakarta on Tuesday for another medical check-up.