House members questions BIN on Munir's murder<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives questioned on Wednesday the State
\nIntelligence Agency (BIN) in a closed-door meeting to determine
\nwhat knowledge the agency had regarding the murder of prominent
\nhuman rights activist Munir.<\/p>\n
Commission I overseeing defense, foreign and information
\naffairs held on Wednesday morning a meeting with BIN officials
\nand asked for clarification of various issues, including reports
\nof the institution's suspected involvement in the high-profile
\ndeath of Munir.<\/p>\n
However, BIN did not have time to respond to the Munir
\nquestions (the agency only responded to allegations of illegal
\nlogging and poaching) because the commission members adjourned
\nthe meeting prematurely due to a scheduled House plenary meeting
\non the fuel price policy.<\/p>\n
Talking to reporters after the meeting, BIN chief Syamsir
\nSiregar denied allegations that his institution or members were
\nconnected with the alleged poisoning of Munir on board a Garuda
\nIndonesia plane last September.<\/p>\n
\"I have been involved in investigations into this case, inside
\nand outside of BIN. So far, there's no evidence at all about any
\ninvolvement of BIN in the death of Munir,\" he avowed.<\/p>\n
Syamsir said he had met with both the House special
\ninvestigation team and the government-sanctioned fact finding
\nteam to help them find Munir's killers.<\/p>\n
\"But no proof (of BIN's involvement) has been found,\" he said,
\nand added that the agency would definitely cooperate with law
\nenforcers if any evidence of involvement by BIN agents emerged.<\/p>\n
However, Syamsir declined to comment when asked about the
\nrelationship between BIN and Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari
\nPriyanto, who is currently being interrogated by police in
\nconnection to the poisoning.<\/p>\n
Pollycarpus, widely alleged by local journalists and activists
\nto be a BIN operative, was aboard the same plane, and in contact
\nwith Munir. He was not flying, but in the passenger compartment,
\nreportedly as an \"aviation security officer\" at the time. He
\npersuaded Munir to change seats, from economy to business class,
\nshortly after departing from Jakarta.<\/p>\n
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Budihardjo said
\non Wednesday that Pollycarpus was still considered a witness,
\nalthough investigators have been questioning him for three days.<\/p>\n
Thus far, the National Police have not yet named any suspects
\nin the case that has drawn international attention due to Munir's
\ninternational status.<\/p>\n
Munir was found dead on Sept. 7, 2004 aboard the Garuda flight
\nto the Netherlands via Singapore. He was planning to study at a
\nuniversity in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
An autopsy by Dutch authorities showed an excessive amount of
\narsenic in Munir's body.<\/p>",
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