Hendro 'disappoints' President<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed disappointment on
\nMonday over the refusal of A.M. Hendropriyono, the former chief
\nof the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), to be questioned by a
\ngovernment sanctioned fact-finding team assigned to help the
\npolice in the investigation of the murder of top human rights
\ncampaigner Munir.<\/p>\n
But the President did not say whether there would be tougher
\nmeasures taken against his senior in the military.<\/p>\n
The team's coordinator Brig. Gen. (Police) Marsudhi Hanafi
\nsaid the recent refusal of Hendropriyono to be questioned had not
\nonly disappointed the team but also the President, since the team
\nwas formed to help the police solve the high-profile case.<\/p>\n
"President Susilo has expressed disappointment over the
\nrefusal of Hendropriyono to be questioned by us because this team
\nis an extension of the President's authority," said Marsudhi
\nafter meeting Susilo at the State Palace.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hendropriyono said he found it hard to believe that
\nthe President was disappointed with him.<\/p>\n
"I mean, he was once my subordinate. Even if (the President)
\nsaid he was disappointed, I'm sure the fact-finding team must
\nhave twisted the facts and made misleading reports about me," he
\nsaid on Monday during a meeting with a team of legislators
\nassigned to monitor the investigation of the Munir case.<\/p>\n
He also defended his decision to ignore the summons given by
\nthe fact-finding team, saying the summons was not a polite way to
\ntreat someone in his position and the team had acted arrogantly.<\/p>\n
The team wanted to question Hendropriyono, a retired army
\ngeneral, to seek clarification over the alleged role of BIN in
\nthe murder case, which took place last year when he was still in
\ncharge of the intelligence agency.<\/p>\n
Susilo set up the fact-finding team on Dec. 23 to help the
\npolice solve the case, which has also drawn international
\nattention. Munir died while aboard a Garuda flight from Jakarta
\nto Amsterdam on Sept. 7 last year. An autopsy by the Dutch
\nauthorities discovered excessive levels of arsenic in his body,
\nindicating that he had been poisoned.<\/p>\n
Marsudhi said that while Susilo had not yet decided whether to
\nextend the team's mandate, the team had suggested that the
\ngovernment dissolve it because it had managed to gather
\nsufficient facts that could be followed up by the National
\nPolice.<\/p>\n
"We have suggested that our task not be extended. The case
\nshould be followed up by the police, and the government should
\nform a special body to supervise this task to ensure they are
\nserious about pursuing it," he said.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Marsudhi said, the President said he was
\npleased with the work carried out by the team since it had
\nmanaged to gather crucial information to solve the case, in spite
\nof the fact that it had limited authority.<\/p>\n
The team asserted that Pollycarpus, a Garuda pilot, who was
\noff duty during the flight and had offered his business class
\nseat to Munir during the first leg of the trip (when it is
\nbelieved he was poisoned), is a BIN agent. It also revealed
\nintelligence documents last week, describing a plan that outlined
\nfour optional methods to kill Munir, who was a strong critic of
\nhuman rights violations committed by the military.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Hendropriyono told lawmakers that he was not
\ninvolved Munir's murder.<\/p>\n
He also said he suspected political maneuvering behind the
\nfact-finding team's move to summon him for questioning over the
\nmurder case.<\/p>\n
He said that the team had not produced any significant results
\nduring its six-month tenure, aside from a character assassination
\nof people like himself.<\/p>",
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