Jakarta – A member of a government-appointed team to investigate the murder of Papua separatist leader Theys Hiyo Eluay said Tuesday he has resigned and a report said a second resignation was likely to follow.

Both members are from Papua. Non-government organisations and church groups in Indonesia's easternmost province called Monday for the team to be disbanded in favour of an independent inquiry. Army elements are widely suspected of having had a role in the murder.

"I have written the [resignation] letter to President Megawati Sukarnoputri as she was the one to issue the decree forming the national investigation team," said Lukas Karl Degey, one of the six civilians in the 11-member team.

Degey, a legislator from Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said health reasons were the main cause. But he also said he has "no experience or competence as an investigator," adding that "investigation is the territory of the police and prosecutors, not a civilian like me." Degey told AFP he has not yet received a reply to his letter.

A second legislator and team member, Simon Patrice Morin, was quoted by the Detikcom online news service as saying he also wants to quit. He could not be reached for confirmation. Morin was quoted as saying there is no role for the team. "What we need now is firmness from Megawati as president to use her power in following up the findings of the police."

The team originally comprised five government officials – including one each from the national police and the military – and six civilians.

Many people in Papua, including its police chief, its governor and rights activists, have said there are indications that Kopassus special forces members had a role in the murder. And army chief General Endriartono Sutarto has said witness testimony indicated the possible hand of Kopassus members. But local police admitted after questioning at least seven Kopassus members that they had hit a dead end in their investigations.

Eluay was found murdered on November 11. He had been abducted the previous evening by an unidentified group as he drove home from a celebration hosted by the Kopassus unit in the provincial capital Jayapura. A sporadic low-level armed struggle for independence began after the Dutch ceded control of the territory to Indonesia in 1963.