Rights award to be named after Munir<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Relatives and close friends of the late rights campaigner Munir
\nhave established a new award called the Munir Courage Award, and
\nwill present it beginning next year to exemplary human rights
\nactivists.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the presentation of the 2004 Yap Thiam Hien
\nAward on Friday, lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said the award was
\nnamed after Munir as a form of recognition of his outstanding
\nwork with regard to human rights issues.<\/p>\n
"One of Munir's prominent traits, which we all appreciate, was
\nhis courage in criticizing the government on human rights
\nviolations and in advocating for those who were abused and
\nmistreated," said Todung, who is also the chairman of the Human
\nRights Study Center.<\/p>\n
The award will be presented to activists who are under 30
\nyears of age and whose lives are dedicated to human rights
\nprotection.<\/p>\n
The committee will also look at how their work was able to
\ninfluence and transform society toward greater freedom of speech
\nand a better understanding of human rights.<\/p>\n
"We have yet to decide, though, whether the annual award will
\nbe presented on Dec. 10, which is Human Rights Day or on Dec. 9,
\nwhich is Munir's birthday," said Rachland Nashidik, the director
\nof local rights monitor, Imparsial.<\/p>\n
Munir's widow, Suciwati, said that the end of the struggle in
\ndefending human rights was not when an award was presented, but
\nwhen freedom from abuse and violations was finally achieved.<\/p>\n
"Some people may not see the purpose of what we're fighting
\nfor now, but I truly believe that they will see it one day. This
\nis all for our children, who will live in a civilization where
\nhuman rights are respected," she said.<\/p>\n
Munir died in September aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight from
\nJakarta to Amsterdam, where he was set to do a master's degree in
\nhuman rights at Utrecht University.<\/p>\n
An autopsy by Dutch authorities discovered three times the
\nfatal level of arsenic in his body, raising suspicions that he
\nwas assassinated.<\/p>\n
Police have questioned dozens of people, but have not yet
\nnamed any suspects.<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had initially agreed to set
\nup an independent team to investigate Munir's death, but later
\nreneged, saying that there was no urgency in establishing such a
\nteam.<\/p>\n
Munir rose to prominence in 1998, when he publicly spoke out
\nabout the abductions of activists by the powerful Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI).<\/p>\n
The activist, who founded both Imparsial and the Commission of
\nMissing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), has been known
\nas a staunch critic of the military, which, in many cases, has
\nbeen accused of orchestrating violent acts throughout the
\ncountry.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rights-award-to-be-named-after-munir-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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