Activists frustrated by little progress in Munir case
Activists frustrated by little progress in Munir case
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Human rights activists have criticized the police for the
limited progress they have made in investigating the alleged
murder of rights champion Munir.
They also urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to give
greater power to the government-sanctioned fact-finding team to
ensure that the probe into the high-profile assassination case is
carried out properly.
"After several months (since the case emerged), the
investigation into Munir's death has barely progressed as the
police are yet to name a suspect, even though they have
questioned 87 witnesses," said Usman Hamid, a coordinator of the
National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence
(Kontras), which was co-founded by Munir.
Usman is also a member of the special fact-finding team, set
up on Dec. 23, under a presidential regulation that limits the
team's authority, so that it merely assists the police in the
investigation process. Activists have urged the President to
revise the regulation.
"On the other hand, the President seems to be delaying his
response to our request for a review of the regulation, meaning
that we have lost our credibility (in the investigation)," he
added.
Activists have also insisted that the President approve the
establishment of a supervisory team chaired by noted lawyer
Todung Mulya Lubis, Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Ma'arief
and a high-ranking police officer.
Rights activists Munir was found dead on board a Garuda flight
to Amsterdam on Sept. 7, 2004. An autopsy conducted by the
Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) concluded that a lethal
level of arsenic was found in Munir's body, which led to his
death.
"We do understand that the President is now focusing on the
current disaster in Aceh, but we hope the police can make better
progress as it has set up a team to probe the case," Usman said,
referring to the police team led by Sr. Comr. Octavinus Farfar.
Separately, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the
police were now focusing their investigation on a passenger with
Indonesian nationality who sat beside Munir during the flight.
"We have his address but we have not yet met the man. If we
are able to find him, we will question him and determine whether
or not he played a role in the murder, or whether he knew the
situation minutes before Munir died," Da'i said as quoted by
Antara.
He refused to elaborate further.