Munir case a domestic matter: Minister<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni and Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Bandung\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
International support for Munir's wife, Suciwati, in her struggle
\nto bring the killers of her husband to justice cannot be counted
\non to push along the domestic probe into the case, Minister of
\nForeign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda has said.<\/p>\n
Citing the high-profile case as an internal matter for
\nIndonesia, he said Suciwati should put pressure on the police and
\na fact-finding team if she wanted it solved as soon as possible,
\ninstead of seeking foreign support.<\/p>\n
Suciwati delivered her testimony at the 61st session of the
\nUnited Nations High Commission on Human Rights (UNHCHR) in Geneva
\nlast Wednesday, telling delegates that a gross human rights
\nviolation had taken place in Indonesia against her husband and
\nthat the world should pay attention to the case.<\/p>\n
Through her testimony, she won the support of international
\nhuman rights groups in her struggle to bring those responsible
\nfor Munir's assassination to justice, as she asked the UNHCR to
\nhelp push for the trial of the case to reveal the masterminds.<\/p>\n
"I've attended many such kinds of meetings and after that we
\nusually don't know what comes out of it, not even a resolution.
\nSometimes we have too high hopes for uncertain things," Hasan
\nsaid in Bandung, West Java, on Saturday, where he inspected the
\nfinal preparations for a golden jubilee commemoration of the
\nAsia-Africa Conference slated for April 24.<\/p>\n
"If we want the investigation process sped up, we should
\nmonitor what the police and the fact-finding team have done so
\nfar, instead of going to Geneva... And that is more realistic,"
\nhe added.<\/p>\n
Hassan said that in a meeting like the UNHCHR session, it was
\nnot only delegates of member countries who were given the chance
\nto speak, but also those from non-governmental organizations.
\n"And that's (the Munir case) not an extraordinary thing because
\nthere are 1001 issues discussed in the meeting."<\/p>\n
Munir, co-founder of human rights watchdogs Imparsial and
\nKontras, was found dead aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight to
\nAmsterdam on Sept. 7, 2004.<\/p>\n
An autopsy conducted by Dutch authorities found excessive
\namounts of arsenic in his body, indicating that he may have been
\npoisoned during the one-hour leg of the flight from Jakarta to
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
The National Police have only charged Pollycarpus Budihari
\nPriyanto, a Garuda pilot who was on board the plane, over his
\nalleged role in "facilitating" the murder, and forging documents
\nlinked to the case.<\/p>\n
The police have also questioned two other Garuda executives --
\nsecretary to the chief of pilots Rohainil Aini, and vice
\npresident of human resources Daan Ahmad.<\/p>\n
The three, including Pollycarpus, are among seven people
\nproposed to the government-sanctioned fact finding team as
\npossible suspects in the murder.<\/p>\n
The remaining four are former Garuda director Indra Setiawan
\nand former vice president of corporate security Ramelgia Anwar,
\nas well as two others linked to the State Intelligence Agency
\n(BIN).<\/p>\n
Sr. Comr. Anton Charlian, chief police investigator in the
\nMunir case, said there were no links found as yet between
\nRohainil or Daan and the murder.<\/p>\n
"We questioned Daan on Thursday and we will continue the
\nquestioning of Rohainil on Monday. We're also summoning Indra on
\nMonday," Anton said.<\/p>\n
However, he said the investigation process could be smoother
\nnow after Dutch authorities handed over documents related to the
\nmurder to the Indonesian Embassy in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
"We've heard that all the documents have been delivered to our
\nembassy. These documents were made by the Dutch police when
\ninvestigating the case after the plane just arrived in Schipol
\nairport," Anton said.<\/p>\n
He said a team of police investigators would soon leave for
\nAmsterdam to pick up the evidence, but could not say when.<\/p>\n
Anton said the investigators would also question two Dutch
\ncitizens, Lie Kian Wang and his wife Lie Fong, who sat near Munir
\nduring the flight from Singapore to the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
"Now that the mutual legal assistance has been accepted by the
\nNetherlands, we can question them when our police investigators
\narrive there," he added.<\/p>",
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