Theys Eluay

Dortheys Hiyo Eluay (known as Theys H. Eluway; 3 November 1937 – 10 November 2001) was a community leader in West Papua who was murdered by members of the Indonesian Army special forces command.

Theys was born in Sere Village in Sentani, in what was then Dutch 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 there was an Act of Free Choice, (PEPERA, Penantuan Pendapat Rakyat or People's Consultation), under UN supervision, to determine the wishes of the Papuans with regard to their political status. Theys was one of those few Papuans selected to take part in this Consultation, which unanimously voted for integration with Indonesia. In 1971 he became a Member of the local legislature. In 1980 he joined the regional Traditional 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 Suharto in 1998, the Council really began to speak out in the open about the political status of Papua and about the right of the Papuans to self-determination.

In 1999 Theys was elected at the Great Consultation in Sentani (Mubes or Musyawara Besar) as the Chairman of the Papua Presidium Council (Dewan Papua) of West Papua (PDP). In 2000, on the Second Papua Congress in Jayapura, he was confirmed as leader of the PDP. Tom Beanal, the Amungmwe 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 (Satuan Tugas or 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, Pos Komando or 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. From his home in Sentani the Morning Star flag of independent Papua was being raised. For these projects they have received generous financial support from Yorrys Raweyai, deputy chairman of the Pemuda Pancasila, a pro Suharto youth organisation, consisting of gangsters.

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