Independence Leader Killed in Papua

On Saturday night, November 10, Theys Eluay was abducted and murdered outside Jayapura, the capital of Papua, while on his way home from a Heroes Day ceremony at the local headquarters of the Indonesian army. Theys was the chair of the Papua Presidium Council, a forum for the peaceful achievement of independence. HRW staff in Washington DC helped draft and circulate a letter signed by several U.S. Congresspeople expressing deep concern over the Theys' death.