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| Southeast Asia | |
| Kopassus troops jailed over Papua leader's murder | |
| 2003-04-21 | |
Seven Indonesian soldiers have been found guilty of murdering Papuan pro-independence leader Theys Eluay. He was strangled in a car on the way home from a dinner hosted by Indonesia's Kopassus soldiers a year-and-a-half ago. It is the first time members of the notorious Kopassus special forces have been convicted over a political killing. Today a military tribunal in Surabaya jailed Lieutennant Colonel Hartomo for three-and-a-half years. He was found by the court to have motivated his subordinates to mistreat Mr Eluay, the 64-year-old political leader, who was pushing for Papuan independence. A Kopassus Private, who claimed in court that he had only covered the victim's mouth to silence him, also received a three-and-a-half year sentence. Two other soldiers received three-year sentences and were allowed to remain in the army.
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| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #4 Cargo! Cargo! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-04-21 16:11:56 |
| #3 John Fromm will lead us to victory! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-04-21 13:28:44 |
| #2 Current Papuan war slogan: Indonesian soldiers. Tastes great! Less filling! |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-04-21 09:49:47 |
| #1 Papua (West Irian) is part of the larger island of Papua New Guinea. The eastern half is the independent nation of Papua New Guinea, a former British colony and Australian protectorate. Prior to 1949, the western half of the island was the Dutch colony of New Guinea. The Papuans are split between West Irian and Papua New Guinea, and want to unite the island. The Indonesians invaded in 1960 and took control of western Papua. They have never been welcome there, being mostly Muslim in a pro-Christian and animist area. The Papuans consider themselves under foreign occupation. There is an intense but low-level guerilla war going on in the area, with Papuan head-hunters murdering Indonesian soldiers when they get the chance. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-04-21 09:47:00 |