Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – As Jakarta came under pressure to mount a credible investigation into the death of Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay, his widow and human-rights activists charged that he was killed by military personnel or someone with a military background.

Madam Yaneke and the vice-president of the Papua Presidium, Mr Tom Beanal, accused the Kopassus special military forces of killing him.They said that the Papuan leader's public demands for independence and opposition to the recently introduced regional autonomy package made him an enemy of the military.

Even national politicians such as People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais have been pushing for a probe. "I say don't allow this to become a mystery, because if this happens, the faith of the international community towards Indonesia and also faith of the local people in Irian Jaya towards Jakarta will be affected," he said.

Police here yesterday admitted that Mr Theys "died in an unnatural way", contrary to their statement on Monday that the victim had died of a heart attack brought on by his abduction on Saturday. Promising swift action and to avoid mass unrest, police said they were sending three teams to investigate the case.

Meanwhile, local human-rights group Elsham said it did not know who was responsible for the Mr Theys' death but suggested that it was someone in the military or with military training. "This is a very professional job, they tried to cover up signs of violence on his body. It is somebody who has been trained to kill without leaving many marks," Elsham vice-director Aloysius Ranwarin said.

Those who argue that the military or Kopassus killed the Papuan leader say Kopassus is a prime suspect because of the way the killing was made to look as if it were an accident. They also point out that Kopassus has a long history of human-rights abuses and extra-judicial killings of independence figures during the Suharto era.

Mr Thaha Alhamid, a member of the Papua Presidium, ruled out any speculation that other members of the pro-independence movement were responsible. "The murder definitely had a connection with politics, but I can't speculate. We just ask police in Irian Jaya and Jakarta to make an objective, open and honest investigation into the case," he said.

Others throw doubt on the military's role, citing Mr Theys' history of negotiation and closeness to various military and government leaders. "It's too early to say, it could be extreme nationalists who see him as a threat," said Mr Bob Lowry, an analyst with political consultant International Crisis Group.Thousands of Papuans have turned out to mourn the Papuan leader.

More than 20,000 Papuans accompanied the body from the regional parliament in Jayapura to his hometown of Sentani 55 km away, according to Mr Thaha.