Dortheys Hiyo Eluay (known as Theys Hiyo Eluay; 3 November 1937 – 10 November 2001) was an Indonesian local politician from Irian Jaya (currently
Papua) turned
West Papuan independence activist. Known as the former leader of
Papua Presidium Council
The Papua Presidium Council ( id, Presidium Dewan Papua) was a 31-member umbrella group that was established to represent Indonesia's West Papua voice for the region's more autonomy within Indonesia and not necessarily independence. It is not onl ...
, he was known as the community leader in West Papua region. He was murdered by members of the
Indonesian Army
The Indonesian Army ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD), ) is the land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,000 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its ...
special forces command.
Early life and political career
Theys was born in Sereh village in
Sentani, in what was then
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
part of New Guinea. He went to the ''Jongensvervolgschool'' (post-primary education) in Yoka, a boarding school, led by the Dutch missionary Izaak Samuel Kijne. After the JVS he followed a course in meteorology and worked then as a meteorological assistant. He also became an "ondoafi", a traditional leader of a village.
In 1962 Indonesia
took over New Guinea from the Dutch. Theys helped the Indonesian army and police to find Papuans who were anti-Indonesian. This led to a great number of casualties in the Sentani area. In 1969 Theys was one of those few Papuans selected to take part in the UN-supervised
Act of Free Choice
The Act of Free Choice ( id, Penentuan Pendapat Rakyat, PEPERA, Determination of the People's Opinion) was a controversial plebiscite held between 14 July and 2 August 1969 in which 1,025 people selected by the Indonesian military in Western New ...
(''Penentuan Pendapat Rakyat'' or PEPERA), which unanimously voted for integration with Indonesia. He campaigned in favour for integration with Indonesia.
In 1971 he became a member of the local legislature, Regional People's Representative Council of Irian Jaya Province, from
Indonesian Christian Party
The Indonesian Christian Party ( id, Partai Kristen Indonesia), better known as Parkindo, was a Christian political party active in Indonesia from 1950 until 1973, when it was merged to make the Indonesian Democratic Party.
Founded by Johannes L ...
(Parkindo); in 1977 he moved to
Golkar
)
, foundation =
, youth = AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force)
, women = KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps)
, newspaper = '' Suara Karya'' (1971–2016)
, headquarters = Jakarta
, ideology ...
. In 1980 he joined the Papua Customary Deliberative Council (''Lembaga Musyawarah Adat Papua'') as a representative for the Sentani area, and later for the whole of Papua Province. In 1990 he became its chairman. From 1996 onwards the council became more political, while, with the increased political freedom after the
downfall of President Suharto in 1998, the council really began to speak out openly about the political status of Papua and about the right of the Papuans to self-determination.
Activism
In 1999 Theys was elected at the Great Consultation in Sentani (Mubes or ''Musyawarah Besar'') as the chairman of the
Papua Presidium Council
The Papua Presidium Council ( id, Presidium Dewan Papua) was a 31-member umbrella group that was established to represent Indonesia's West Papua voice for the region's more autonomy within Indonesia and not necessarily independence. It is not onl ...
(''Presidium Dewan Papua PDP''). In setting up this organisation, he used funds provided by Wahid government, as well as from Indonesian military.
In 2000, on the President
Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid ( ; born Abdurrahman ad-Dakhil; 7 September 1940 – 30 December 2009), though more colloquially known as Gus Dur (), was an Indonesian politician and Islamic religious leader who served as the 4th president of Indonesia, from ...
-supported Second Papua Congress in Jayapura, he was confirmed as leader of the PDP. Tom Beanal, the Amungme leader was elected as his deputy. He began calling himself ''Pimpinan Besar Bangsa Papua'' (PBBP), the Great Leader of the Papuan People, and he appeared almost daily in the papers. He organized young Papuans in the ''Satgas Papua'' (Papua Task Force) and had them trained. The Satgas Papua managed to establish, with success, order at large mass demonstrations and at the Mubes and the Papua Congress. The Satgas were led by his son Boy Eluay. Theys also initiated the Posko Papua (Papua Commanding Post), established at the entrance of many villages to control who would go in or out of the village, to prevent provocators, to create a situation of violent conflict as in neighbouring
Ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
. From his home in Sentani the
Morning Star flag
The Morning Star flag ( id, Bendera Bintang Kejora, nl, Morgenstervlag) was a flag used in a supplemental fashion on Netherlands New Guinea to the flag of the Netherlands. It was first raised on 1 December 1961 prior to the territory coming un ...
of independent Papua was being raised. For these projects they have received generous financial support from Yorrys Raweyai, a papuan of chinese descent from Serui, deputy chairman of the
Pemuda Pancasila
The Pancasila Youth ( id, Pemuda Pancasila, ''PP'') is an Indonesian far-right paramilitary organization established in 1959. The organisation's name refers to ''Pancasila'', the official "five principles" of the Indonesian state. Pemuda Panca ...
, a pro-
Suharto
Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
youth organisation, consisting of ''
gangsters
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and r ...
''.
Although the apparent unchecked growth of Satgas Papua and sometimes funding for its activities was a part of counter-insurgency strategy of Indonesian security forces, in order to infiltrate and compromise and “turn” existing separatist groups, in addition to identify other covert independence networks and personalities.
Death
![TheysTomb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/TheysTomb.jpg)
On 26 September 2001 Theys Eluay approached officially the consultation of leaders (including the army and police chiefs) of Papua Province to ask for the reasons for the killing of Willem Onde, a Papuan community leader, on 14 September in
Merauke
Merauke is a large town and the capital of the South Papua province, Indonesia. It is also the administrative centre of Merauke Regency in South Papua. It is considered the easternmost city in Indonesia. The town was originally called Ermasoe. It ...
. Willem Onde was, apparently, killed by the army or by
Kopassus
The Kopassus ( id, Komando Pasukan Khusus, Special Forces Command) is an Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) special forces group that conducts special operations missions for the Indonesian government, such as direct action, unconventional warfare, sa ...
. On 10 November 2001
Heroes Day
Heroes' Day or National Heroes' Day may refer to a number of commemorations of national heroes in different countries and territories. It is often held on the birthday of a national hero or heroine, or the anniversary of their great deeds that ...
was celebrated at the headquarters of Kopassus. The people who were invited had some link with the integration of Irian into Indonesia in 1963. According to people present at the party, the commander of the Kopassus got his microphone and said loudly goodbye to Theys when he left at around 10 o'clock in the night. "Goodbye to the Great Leader of the Papuans. Have a safe journey home!"
On that night he was killed by
Kopassus
The Kopassus ( id, Komando Pasukan Khusus, Special Forces Command) is an Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) special forces group that conducts special operations missions for the Indonesian government, such as direct action, unconventional warfare, sa ...
officers, whom he had given a lift in his car on his way home. A few days after the abduction and murder Kopassus soldiers were seen cleaning the place of the abduction in Skyline very thoroughly. Theys was given a heroes funeral. He was buried without his heart, as the police told the public it had sent it in a box to Jakarta to a forensic laboratory to look for evidence that Theys had died from a stroke. The heart was never returned and no laboratory in Jakarta or Makassar knew anything of this request. It was quite clear that Theys had died because of suffocation. He was buried on a soccer field his family owns in Sentani, close to
Sentani International Airport
Dortheys Hiyo Eluay International Airport, also known as Sentani International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Internasional Sentani) is an airport serving Jayapura, . This was supposed to become a new "Acre of Heroes", who had died in the struggle of Papuan activists, like
Arnold Ap
Arnold Clemens Ap (born July 1, 1946, in Numfor Island, Netherlands New Guinea – died April 26, 1984, in Jayapura, Irian Jaya, Indonesia) was a West Papuan cultural leader, anthropologist and musician. Arnold was the leader of the group ...
and Thomas Wanggai.
Though it was from the beginning clear that only a very well organized group could have killed Theys, it took some time to have the investigation on its way.
Elsham, the Jayapura-based human rights organization, published a report, which suggested that the murder was organized at the instigation of elements in the central government, which want to maintain national unity, at all cost. A special national investigation commission was set up by President
Megawati
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth vice president from 1999 to 2001.
Megawati i ...
to investigate not only the brains behind the murder, but also to look for possibilities of involvement of government departments or sections of the army. In the end four Kopassus soldiers were convicted and sentenced to 3 - 3.5 years in jail. The Commander in Chief of the Indonesian army, General
Endriartono Sutarto
Endriartono Sutarto (born April 29, 1947) is a retired army general. He was the commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces between 2002 and 2006.
Before assuming the highest helm at the military, Endriartono has served some key positions ...
, however, publicly said that he disagreed with the sentence, as these soldiers should be considered "heroes" as they had killed in order to maintain the national unity of the Republic. Nobody was charged with the murder of Ari, the driver of Theys, who "disappeared". There are, however, five witnesses who have seen Ari enter the Kopassus headquarters in Hamadi, which, by the way, is at the same location as a logging company owned by the Soeharto family. People, and also his parents, fear that Ari was killed by the Kopassus in Hamadi.
A period of increased repression of all forms of protests against Indonesian rule began. Theys was succeeded as chairman of the PDP by Thom Beanal, his deputy. The PDP, however, never regained the authority and worldwide publicity it had had under the short leadership of Theys Eluay. The PDP, nevertheless still devoted in peaceful movement to solve Papua’s conflict. This culminated in its support for the creation and passing of Special Autonomy Law for Papuans in 2001.
On 10 November 2018, Yanto Eluay, son of Theys Eluay, alongside relatives of Eluay during the 17-years anniversary of Theys Eluay killing, declared forgiveness for the perpetrators. He also asked Theys’ killing to not be called a “human rights violation” or be used political reasons.
Legacy
![Aerial view of Sentani Airport 20130412](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Aerial_view_of_Sentani_Airport_20130412.jpg)
On 20 October 2020, the Governor of Papua
Lukas Enembe
Lukas Enembe (born 27 July 1967) is an Indonesian politician who serves as Governor of Papua Province since April 2013. He had previously served as Regent of Puncak Jaya Regency between 2007 and 2012, and Vice Regent of the same regency from 2 ...
, with the approval of the
Ministry of Transportation
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...
and the Papua Regional People's Representative Council, renamed Sentani International Airport, the largest airport in Papua, into
after him.
This naming was in honour of his efforts of fighting for the rights of the Papuans, and also as one of the participants in the 1969 PEPERA.
The airport was constructed on customary land of the Eluay family that was released to the Dutch by Nero Nihiwe Eluay.
References
Further reading
* S. Eben Kirksey and J. A. D. Roemajauw 2002 The Wild Terrorist Gang: The Semantics of Violence and Self-determination in West Papua, in: ''Oxford Development Studies'', 30, 2
*
Giay, Benny 2002 Peristiwa penculikan dan pembunuhan Theys H Eluay 10 November 2001 (The Abduction and Assassination of Theys H Eluay on November 10, 2001)" . The book was banned by the local authorities in West Papua and the author initimidated. The book was considered dangerous to national unity.
* Giay, Benny 2006, Pembunuhan Theys: kematian HAM di tanah Papua (The Murder of Theys: The Death of Human Rights in the Land of the Papuans), Yogyakarta: Galang Press
* ''Memoria Passionis di Papua. Kondisi Sosial Politik dan Hak Asasi Manusia: Gambaran 2000.
(Memoria Passionis. The social and political conditions and human rights: the picture in 2000), Sekretariat Keadilan dan Perdamaian (SKP) (Justice and Peace Organization), Keuskupan Jayapura (the Episcopal Secretariat Jayapura) and Lembaga Studi Pers dan Pembangunan (LSPP), Jakarta, (The Foundation for the Study of the Press and Development) Jakarta, 2001.
Report Papua in the year 2000*
*
*
* Articles in the Cenderawasih Pos, daily, Jayapura (https://web.archive.org/web/20080409212432/http://www.cenderawasihpos.com/)
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eluay, Theys
1937 births
2001 deaths
People from Jayapura Regency
West Papuan independence activists
Indonesian murder victims
People murdered in Indonesia
Netherlands New Guinea people