West Papua`s would-be first president is laid to rest. In life, Theys Hiyo Eluay did what no other Papuan leader before him had been able to do. He brought unity to West Papua`s disparate independence movement, while forging cohesion among the province`s more than 250 tribal groups. His murder has left the movement floundering.

YANCE RUMASEUW, FRIEND: This is very, very expensive. We pay so much. On the death of Mr Theys Eluay, we pay so much. You know why? Because to get any other leader, same type like Theys, it will be more and more difficult.

But in death, Theys Eluay has given an enduring gift to the people of Papua. He`s provided them with a martyr.

THAHA ALHAMID, PAPUA PRESIDIUM COUNCIL (Translation): The blood flowing from Theys`s body and from other freedom fighters who have been killed and slaughtered and who will be slaughtered in the future are the drops that will enrich the spirit of struggle.

Theys Eluay is an unlikely martyr. For many Papuans he was a collaborator.

NEWSREEL: On the basis of the 1962 New York agreement, the Act of Free Choice...

In 1969, Theys was one of 1,025 Papuans, handpicked by Jakarta, to determine the former Dutch colony`s future, a so-called "Act of Free Choice". In the ballot, held under the UN`s management, but now described by them as a farce, all voted to become part of Indonesia. For 30 years, Theys served the corrupt Suharto regime. Then, in the wake of Suharto`s resignation in 1998, Theys underwent a remarkable change of heart. One week before his murder at a party held at his home to celebrate his 64th birthday, Theys Eluay spoke of his transformation from Indonesia`s red and white colours to those he believed to be more true.

THEYS ELUAY (Archival footage - translation): It`s up to God whether I live or die, but I`m determined. All my limited ability..I`ll dedicate it, in the end, to the Papuan people. I used to be all red and white. I was more red and white than the Javanese. I told them, they know. This old man is Papuan, but he`s red and white.

Two months before his murder, Theys Eluay returned from Jakarta where he had been meeting with political leaders to discuss an offer of greater autonomy for the region. Vested interests of the rich and powerful are at stake, including those at the military. Theys`s son, Boy Eluay says when his father returned from Jakarta he knew he was in danger.

BOY ELUAY, SON (Translation): He came back from Jakarta and said "There are two possibilities. The first is that I`ll be kidnapped, so is the second. If he`s been kidnapped by the Indonesian government, or the military, then I`m sure he`s dead.

On the night of November 10 last year, Theys Eluay was abducted and then murdered. His wife Yannecke has many unanswered questions about what happened that night, including the ethnicity of those involved, whether they were Papuan or from Java.

YANNECKE ELUAY, WIFE (Translation): The ones who kidnapped him... How many were there? Where the ones who did it from Kopassus or the police? Was their hair straight or curly? Those are the questions.

Most Papuans believe they know the answer. Boy Eluay points the finger of blame firmly and squarely at Indonesia`s elite special forces, Kopassus.

BOY ELUAY (Translation): It`s 99.9%. It was done by the Indonesian military, by Kopassus. It was clearly Kopassus, perhaps with the police, but it was definitely the military.

On the night of his murder, Theys had dinner at Kopassus headquarters. Other independence leaders were invited, but only Theys, who still had close personal ties with Kopassus, accepted the invitation. He was on his way home when the car he was travelling in was stopped. It`s possible his abductors didn`t expect anyone to be watching. Media reports of killer vampires had begun circulating just days before. Similar rumours had been used by the military in the past to keep the highly superstitious Papuans indoors. But they had little impact that night. This woman was just one of several witnesses to the abduction.

HIJACK WITNESS: I just can see the driver because...just only the driver and the men who fight the driver is two men. And then they just...they tried to push the driver out or maybe they can, what I think is, maybe they can get the car.

Despite threats and intimidation from Kopassus, witnesses to the abduction of Theys Eluay have defiantly refused to be cowed. Since giving her statement to police, this witness knows her home has come under watch, but she says she does not know by whom.

HIJACK WITNESS: What I saw that night is the man is sort of like Javanese. It`s not Papuan. Absolutely not Papuans. Some of the men, they said - this must be - they really sure that this man is from the military because they work so quick and so smart, so it can`t be just ordinary people.

Yusuf and Daniel - not their real names - also witnessed Theys Eluay`s abduction. They watched Theys`s driver escape from his attackers before fleeing to the minibus in which they were travelling to plead for help.

WITNESS JUSUF (Translation): He had the chance to cry out for help. He was saying "Help, help, please save me, help! Please save me. God, help! They`ve kidnapped my Father. They`ve kidnapped my Father." He said it again and again.

The 21-year-old driver Aristoteles Masoka pleaded to be returned to the Kopassus military base from where he had only minutes before departed.

MINIBUS WITNESS DANIEL (Translation): He got out of the vehicle, we watched for a while, then he walked around and went to the gate. Then he went in.

Before he left the minibus to re-enter the base, Aristoteles made one last phone call, alerting the independence leader`s wife to what was happening.

YANNECKE ELUAY (Translation): At about five or ten minutes past ten, the driver rang and said "We`ve been kidnapped." Then the driver said "Call the people together. Please pray. The Papuan God is the living God." That`s all he said.

It was not until the next day that the body of Theys Eluay was found. On a road far from home, and through which his vehicle would have had to gain clearance at three military checkpoints. Despite highly visible signs of strangulation, authorities first tried to suggest Theys Eluay died from heart failure. That a man who could not drive was found dead in the driver`s seat is perhaps yet another indication that this was not a natural death. The province`s police chief admits witness testimony implicates Kopassus, Indonesia`s elite special forces, as the number one suspect, but building the case is proving difficult.

GENERAL MADE PASTIKA, POLICE CHIEF: Up to now, of course I cannot say this is done by the Kopassus, up to now.

REPORTER: But it seems from what you`re saying, by the way you are saying it, that you believe it will get to that point?

GENERAL MADE PASTIKA: From our indicators we find up to now, there is - we intend to come to that point.

General Pastika says police investigators are legally hamstrung when it comes to investigating their security counterparts.

REPORTER: So can you investigate the military?

GENERAL MADE PASTIKA: Now, no.

REPORTER: So how will you be sure that you`ll be able to get to the bottom of this if it is Kopassus?

GENERAL MADE PASTIKA: Yeah. If it is the Kopassus, then we have to transfer the case to the military police.

For their part, Kopassus has simply issued denials. Media inquiries were not welcomed at the base where Theys Eluay and his driver were last seen alive that night. Security personnel appeared seemingly from nowhere to reject Kopassus`s very existence.

REPORTER: Tidak Kopassus?

MAN: Tidak.

REPORTER: OK, I film? I film?

MAN: No.

REPORTER: Why?

MAN: Because you cannot take a photo in here.

REPORTER: Why?

MAN: High security area.

Indonesia`s police chief has had similar problems in trying to get answers from Kopassus soldiers about the return of the driver to the base that night.

GENERAL MADE PASTIKA: They didn`t say anything. They didn`t see anything for Ari.

REPORTER: I have spoken to witnesses who have said they saw him walk through the base. There are two witnesses, I understand, in police hands, in police protection at the moment, who say they saw him at the base after the incident. Kopassus is saying to you they saw nothing, he was not there?

GENERAL MADE PASTIKA: No.

REPORTER: What is Kopassus saying?

GENERAL MADE PASTIKA: They didn`t see Ari there.

REPORTER: Do you believe that?

GENERAL MADE PASTIKA: This is not a matter of believe or not, but we have to talk about the evidence. That is the problem.

Aristoteles or Ari has not been seen since he returned alone to the special forces base. His parents are struggling to come to terms with the very real possibility that their eldest son may never come home.

DORSILA AYOMI, MOTHER OF MISSING DRIVER (Translation): If he`s dead, bring his body back to me. But as a mother, I don`t feel that he`s dead and I`ve asked God for a sign. For me. If he`s dead, I should be given a sign, but so far I`ve been given no sign at all. So I`m convinced my child`s still alive. I believe in God.

Yonas and Dorsila want answers, but Kopassus has told them nothing.

DORSILA AYOME (Translation): I`m very disappointed. Really disappointed. I thought Kopassus protected us, but now look what`s happened.

Papua`s leading human rights organisation, ELSHAM, is attempting to carry out its own independent investigation into the death of Theys Eluay. ELSHAM coordinator John Rumbiak believes the order to kill Theys Eluay came from Jakarta. And he says this document, produced by the Indonesian Government in June 2000, is proof of a policy aimed at singling out independence leaders and crushing the movement.

JOHN RUMBIAK, ELSHAM: In the document itself, Theys Eluay have been identified in a diagram including other leaders. Theys Eluay was identified in the document as representing the communities or representing the chief tribes.

That document was written during the presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid. He now says he knows nothing about it.

REPORTER: This document was written while you were president. Are you aware of its existence?

ABDURRAHMAN WAHID, FORMER INDONESIAN PRESIDENT: No, no, I don`t know at all. I don`t know it at all. Whether it is government or individuals, you see, doing their things in the name of the government.

It was former president Wahid who first proposed loosening the ties that bind West Papua to Jakarta. The tragic separation of East Timor appeared to be the catalyst for his offer to allow Papuans to hold their first united pro-independence congress which propelled Theys Eluay into the spotlight. Wahid says he admired Theys Eluay as both a religious man and a pragmatic political leader willing to compromise.

ABDURRAHMAN WAHID: This is a very, very inhuman act to kill him for his views.

At the time of his death, Theys Eluay was fighting subversion charges laid by the state as a result of his defiant independence stance. He and three other members of the Papuan Presidium Council first faced the court during the dying days of Abdurrahman Wahid`s tenure as president. Wahid says he was willing to pre-empt the outcome of the trial and offer a pardon to a man he considered a friend, as he did not have faith in Indonesia`s ability to deliver justice.

ABDURRAHMAN WAHID: In many cases deliver sentences that are inappropriate - that are inappropriate and I know that in the case of Theys that will happen as well. And it happened because he was killed. So that shows that the sentences are brutal in a way, inhuman.

But as to who did it, the former president was guarded in his opinion.

ABDURRAHMAN WAHID: I want to be careful in this because it concerns politics as well. I mean, somebody who dislikes him, maybe out of personal feud with him or, you see, other things. I don`t know anything.

One possible explanation relates to Jakarta`s offer of greater autonomy for West Papua, something many Papuans see as a recipe for greater instability. The province`s annual budget of A$700 million is set to double this year as it gains a larger share of the revenue from its vast natural resources. There are many vested interests angling for a cut. Not the least of these is Indonesia`s military, which has long profited from its powerful stake in West Papua`s business dealings. It`s quite possible that Theys Eluay was outplayed in this new era financial carve-up.

JOHN RUMBIAK: Offering wider autonomy without consulting properly with the Papuan people is creating other problems.

A few weeks after Theys Eluay`s murder, West Papuans commemorated the 40th anniversary of independence lost. This year, the ceremony was held at the home of the murdered independence leader. On the eve of the anniversary, organisers remained uncertain about how it should be commemorated. After days of rioting that followed Theys`s death, the primary concerns of security enforcers was that this emotionally wrought day passed peacefully.

CEREMONY LEADER (Translation): We cannot express our anger. The Presidium wants us to keep the peace. Ther are military and police surrounding this area. I don`t want your comments. Stop. I`m in charge. Don`t talk back. I`m handling security.

Police attempted to defuse tensions by attending the ceremony, although their visit also clearly had another purpose. Theys Eluay`s death has created a vacuum in the independence movement, leaving it more vulnerable than ever. Many West Papuans, including respected academic and theologian Benny Giay, believe THAT this is precisely why Theys was murdered.

BENNY GIAY, THEOLOGIAN: He was killed because I think they want to - the whole purpose was to, to stop this movement, actually to send a message to the Papuans who are struggling for independence, that if you do - if you continue this, we are going to kill you like we did to Theys.

Thaha Alhamid, Secretary-General of the Papuan Presidium Council, began receiving death threats just days after Theys Eluay was murdered.

THAHA ALHAMID, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF PAPUAN PRESIDIUM COUNCIL (Translation): Then on December 1st at 5:47 Western Indonesian time, a message came from the same number. "Soon it will be your turn to follow Theys."

Thaha says the murder of the West Papuan leader shows that Indonesia is not prepared to negotiate.

THAHA ALHAMID (Translation): We know that Theys was killed while leading a peaceful movement. This means Indonesia does not have the political will to talk to the Papuans, they only want to use violence, to send in troops and wipe out the Papuans.

There is now a very real danger that Theys Eluay`s pledge of the pursuit of independence through non-violence may falter. There are signs that the pro-independence militia, or Satgas, led by Theys`s son, Boy, is beginning to arm itself with more than the stakes and spears they`ve held up until now.

BOY ELUAY (Translation): Recently we acquired 18M16s. They were brand new. Two were still wrapped in plastic. Also weapons... left by the Americans when they went home. There are Gerands and so on.

The depth of Papuan`s feelings appear to have been noticed far away in Jakarta. A planned visit to the province by the President has been deferred indefinitely with authorities acknowledging heightened tensions in the province. But Indonesia`s President Megawati Sukarnoputri has made it very clear that she won`t tolerate any separatist notions. She`s told the military they have one job to do.

MEGAWATI SUKARNOPUTRI, DECEMER 29, 2001 ADDRESSING ARMY PARADE (Translation): You must do your duty as best you can according to the oath of service and your vows as a soldier. In this way you can carry out your duty without having to worry about human rights.

Jakarta has promised his death will be investigated, but many doubt the willingness of the government to dig too deep. Theys Eluay`s final resting place is the newly proclaimed national war heroes` cemetery. Theys was very much a political game player and he understood very well the consequences of a wrong move. One week before his murder, Theys was clearly resigned to his fate.

THEYS ELUAY (Translation): Our flag hasn`t flown for so many years. We`re in the midst of an evil nation. In the mouth of the tiger. But it`s God`s will. Our prayers that our flag will fly will be answered. I`m prepared to go to my grave, but the flag will fly. It will fly. That`s perfectly natural for me. I don`t mind. It`s in God`;s hands.But we won`t be under the Indonesians.

Theys Eluay has made his mark. His successors can only pray that they are not asked to pay the same price.