Jakarta – Soldiers are suspected of involvement in the murder of Theys Hiyo Eluay, a separatist leader in Indonesia's Papua province, the military said Wednesday.
"The military police team has conveyed to us that there's a strong indication of legal violations by rogue members of the TNI in relation to the death of Theys Eluay," armed forces (TNI) spokesman Major General Syafrie Syamsuddin told AFP. "They are now facing a further stage of investigation," he said.
A team from the military police had launched its own investigation into Eluay's murder. Syamsuddin did not say how many soldiers were involved or if they were being detained.
But Wednesday's Koran Tempo daily quoted an unnamed military source as saying that three members from the elite army unit Kopassus – a major, a captain and a low-ranking soldier – have been detained for their alleged role in the murder.
The government has appointed another national team to investigate the case whose membership includes officials from the national human rights commission, parliamentarians, police and military officers and representatives of non-governmental organisations.
The provincial police chief, governor and rights activists have said there are indications that members of the Kopassus army special forces had a role in the murder. Army chief General Endriartono Sutarto has said witness testimony indicated the possible hand of Kopassus members.
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. Eluay had called for a peaceful solution.
Last week Eluay's deputy Tom Beanal said Jakarta authorities were dragging their feet in their investigation into the murder. He described the national team as "another form of tricks" by the government to prevent Papua police from revealing the truth.