Funeral brings Papua independence calls

Indonesian students demand the United Nations to set up an independent commission to probe the murder of Theys Eluay

SENTANI, Indonesia -- Thousands of traditionally dressed mourners have expressed their desire for independence from Indonesia as a leading breakaway leader was being buried.

Tribal chiefs in feather costumes danced as about 10,000 Papuans moved Saturday in procession from the modest home of Theys Eluay, the man many believe was kidnapped and killed, possibly with the involvement of the Indonesian military.

Police and soldiers stood guard while others manned road blocks, confiscating knives and slingshots from the crowd, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Under a scorching sun, hymns wafted up while mourners carried a large cardboard cross with the separatist blue and white Morning Star flag stuck on, a symbol of the demands for independence in Papua.

Papua police chief Inspector-General Made Mangku Pastika was among those who sprinkled flowers into the grave once Eluay's body had been lowered, Reuters news agency reported.

By early afternoon Sentani, which lies some 3,700 km (2,300 miles) east of Jakarta, appeared calm. There were no reports of violence.

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But a huge banner near the burial ground made clear gestures of goodwill and official tolerance of the flying of the Morning Star flag would not be enough to roll back decades of human rights abuses.

"The United Nations should be responsible for West Papuan rights to self determination -- autonomy no, full independence yes," it read, referring to Jakarta's recent decision to hand greater autonomy to Papua to handle its own affairs.

Indonesia's former President Abdurrahman Wahid, who last year negotiated with Eluay, sent a wreath to the funeral, AP reported.

Current head of state Megawati Sukarnoputri, who ordered a security crackdown against separatist leaders, has not commented on the death.

People expressed sorrow at the charismatic Eluay's death, who despite his links to the autocratic rule of former President Suharto was revered by many. Eluay was once a parliamentarian in the former ruling Golkar party, Suharto's political vehicle.

The pro-independence movement insists Eluay was killed because of his efforts to break the province away from Indonesia.

Theys Eluay was murdered say followers, but doctors are not so sure

Eluay was found dead in his upturned car last Sunday after eating dinner with the head of the army's elite special forces.

Authorities have given conflicting views of the death of Eluay, who was easily recognizable in Indonesia with his shock of white hair and large frame.

While there has been only relatively minor trouble since his death, it could be a setback to Indonesia's hope of calming decades of separatist tension in the sparsely populated territory if evidence points to murder.

Eluay's council had already rejected the granting of greater autonomy that handed Papuan people a bigger share of the province's wealth, saying it did not go far enough.

Papua is home to the world's richest copper and gold mine as well as lucrative oil and gas fields.

The council Eluay led eschews the hard line taken by the pro-independence Free Papua Movement (OPM), rebels who have been fighting a low-level guerrilla war for decades.

Some people in the eastern province of two million people, previously called Irian Jaya, also refer to it as West Papua.

The province makes up the western half of New Guinea island, north of Australia.

Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1963 after heavy diplomatic pressure on the Netherlands, Indonesia's former colonial ruler. In 1969 a U.N.-run plebiscite was held among local leaders, including Eluay, which resulted in a vote to join Indonesia.

The vote has been widely criticized as unfair.