Hendropriyono: I had nothing to do with Munir's death<\/p>\n
Retired four-star Army general Abdullah Makhmud Hendropriyono is
\nlikely to remain in the spotlight, as the government-sanctioned
\nfact-finding team (TPF) has submitted its report to President
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono on its investigation into the murder of
\nhuman rights activist Munir.<\/p>\n
Though not directly naming Yogyakarta-born Hendropriyono,
\nwhose last position was as chief of the feared National
\nIntelligence Agency (BIN), the team sent signals to the media
\nthat he might somehow be implicated in the crime.<\/p>\n
Hendropriyono, born on May 7, 1945, is a 1980 graduate of U.S.
\nArmy General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth. He gave an
\ninterview to Ridwan Max Sijabat from The Jakarta Post at his
\noffice early last week, at which he strenuously denied being
\ninvolved in the murder of Munir.<\/p>\n
Question (Q): Were you, either in your own capacity or as BIN
\nchief, involved in the poisoning of human rights activist Munir?<\/p>\n
Answer (A): Frankly and honestly, I had nothing to do with
\nMunir's death. I never asked anyone to kill him, and BIN, under
\nmy leadership, did not hatch any plot to do so because he was not
\na problem as an individual, nor a problem for the state, the
\nnation or the government.<\/p>\n
Q: But why weren't you cooperative with the government-
\nsanctioned fact-finding team (TPF Munir)?<\/p>\n
A: I was not prepared to be summoned by the fact-finding team
\nset up through a presidential decree. I did not agree with the
\nway the team summoned citizens and collected information from
\ntheir targeted sources.<\/p>\n
The team was quite arrogant, since they felt they had full
\nauthority to summon and question any citizen at will. The team
\nwas not set up primarily to summon or interrogate people but to
\ncollect information necessary to reveal the circumstances of
\nMunir's death, his assassins and their motives.<\/p>\n
I was disappointed with the team when they told the press that
\nthey would summon me and other former BIN officials, but did not
\nactually send a written summons.<\/p>\n
I would have been cooperative if the team had been more
\npersuasive and professional in carrying out its mission.<\/p>\n
This way, I'm showing everyone that the authorities can no
\nlonger summon anyone without good justification. The authorities
\nshould no longer scare people in this new atmosphere of
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
Q: But you were rumored to have held a meeting with Garuda
\npilot Pollycarpus (who is under police arrest) to discus the
\nkilling of Munir, while your former deputy, Muchdi P.R., was
\nrumored to have led the mission in the field. Is there any truth
\nin these allegations?<\/p>\n
A: None whatsoever. During my tenure at BIN, I never held a
\nmeeting or issued any order to kill Munir.<\/p>\n
Q: The team has discovered intelligence-linked documents that
\nset out four plans to kill Munir. What is your response?<\/p>\n
A: BIN did not produce such plans because it never planned to
\nkill Munir.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you hate Munir, his activities, or his organization,
\nImparsial?<\/p>\n
A: The state and I have no reason to hate any honest citizen,
\nincluding Munir, his activities or his organization -- and he was
\ntoo insignificant anyway. He was a critic of the military and
\nfighting for human rights and democracy but few were worried
\nabout him and his activities.<\/p>\n
Q: What will you do if the police, in their subsequent
\ninvestigations, discover you were involved, or that BIN had a
\nrole, in the poisoning of Munir?<\/p>\n
A: The case has to be put to me and I will be ready to be
\nbrought to justice. In such an event, the BIN chief would have to
\nresign. But how could I do that, as I have already resigned?<\/p>\n
Q: Have you or your family been affected by the wide media
\ncoverage of BIN's alleged involvement in the Munir case?<\/p>\n
A: My family and I have been badly affected -- as though I
\nwere involved in the case. The way the TPF used the mass media
\nto overexpose my rejection of its invitation was a form of
\ncharacter assassination.<\/p>\n
Besides, all three of my children have had to endure the shame
\nsince \"Hendropriyono\" is their last name.<\/p>\n
Q: Why is Indonesia prone to terrorist attacks?<\/p>\n
A: Because this large country is quite open to infiltrators
\nfrom outside. Anyone can easily enter Indonesia because its
\nborders -- land, sea and air -- are not fully guarded. Also, many
\nhard-line groups have the potential to use violence and terrorism
\nto advance their cause.<\/p>\n
Q: Why can't terrorism be tackled; haven't their organizations
\nbeen identified?<\/p>\n
A: The law no longer allows the security authorities to arrest
\nthose who are strongly suspected of launching terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
During the New Order era, terror attacks were very rare and
\ncould easily be foiled because the authorities and intelligence
\napparatus were allowed to take and arrest hard-line groups.<\/p>\n
Terrorist attacks can be minimized in Indonesia only if BIN is
\nallowed to take and arrest all members of hard-line groups who
\nare behind terror threats and attacks.<\/p>\n
The most wanted, Nur Muhammad Top and Dr. Azahari, two
\nMalaysian citizens believed to have been behind a string of
\nterrorist attacks in the past, could be captured only if security
\nauthorities, including BIN, were allowed to \"borrow\" all those
\nclose to the two to obtain information on them.<\/p>\n
Terrorist attacks in Bali, Jakarta and other areas in the
\ncountry could have been minimized and detected if BIN had been
\ngiven the power. The government regulation in lieu of law (Perpu)
\non terrorism has been found to be ineffective because the
\nsecurity authorities are allowed only to arrest those suspected
\nof launching terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
Q: How do you assess the secessionist movement in Papua and
\nAceh?<\/p>\n
A: The separatist movement in Papua is far more serious than
\nthe threat from GAM (the Free Aceh Movement) because its lobby
\nhas reached international forums and developed countries.<\/p>\n
The government should no longer use violence or the military
\nto quell separatist movements but, rather, intensify dialog to
\npersuade rebels to return to the unitary Indonesian state.<\/p>\n
If the rebels turn down peaceful dialog, Indonesia should
\ninvite the United Nations to hold a national -- not regional --
\nreferendum to determine the future of Aceh and Papua. I do not
\nbelieve that the population would vote for the two provinces'
\nseparation.<\/p>\n
Q: How did you become interested in intelligence issues?<\/p>\n
A: I spent half of my military career in the field of
\nintelligence, with appointments in strategic positions in the
\nArmy elite force (Kopassus), the Indonesian Military intelligence
\nunit (BAIS) and the Jakarta Military Command.<\/p>\n
Q: When and why did you become interested in democracy?<\/p>\n
A: I have read many books on the forms of government before
\nand after the birth of Christ, which indicate that democratic
\nregimes last longer than totalitarian or communist ones.<\/p>\n
I fell in love with democracy initially when the seeds of
\ndemocracy began to grow in Indonesia with the election of
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri as chairperson of the then Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) at its congress in Jakarta in 1992. As
\nJakarta Military chief at that time, I was not ordered by then
\npresident Soeharto to intervene in the congress.<\/p>\n
Q: Who are your role models?<\/p>\n
A: Napoleon Bonaparte and Sukarno. Napoleon was a brilliant
\ngeneral and leader who brought France into a golden era in Europe
\nin the 18th century. Sukarno was also a strong and famous
\nstatesman during his era; he had a brilliant outlook on
\npolitical, social and economic issues.<\/p>\n
I have read many books on the two famous figures and their
\nthoughts.<\/p>",
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