Activists launch campaign to resolve Munir murder case
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
About 500 people, mostly rights activists, staged a rally on Wednesday as part of a campaign to push the government to solve the murder of noted human rights defender Munir.
The demonstrators first rallied in front of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) headquarters in South Jakarta, and later moved to outside the presidential palace, calling on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take action against the masterminds of the murder.
"Even after one year (since the murder), everyone remains in the dark as to who is responsible for murdering our colleague Munir. So, we are here to ask the government to continue investigating the case until the mastermind of the murder is put on trial," one activist said.
Dozens of police personnel secured the peaceful rally at BIN, which was also participated in by Munir's widow Suciwati, while BIN staffers silently watched the protesters from inside their office, the gate of which was securely locked.
As a symbol of mourning, Suciwati place flowers in front of the gate.
Munir, cofounder of two prominent human rights groups Imparsial and National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), was one of the country's most prominent human rights campaigners.
One year after Munir's murder, the government has failed to properly investigate and prosecute those responsible, rights activists have said.
Munir died in September last year on a Garuda flight en route to the Netherlands, just hours before the plane arrived at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.
An autopsy report by the Dutch Forensic Institute found lethal levels of arsenic in Munir's body, which the forensic experts believed to be the cause of death.
Subsequent investigation found that the arsenic had most likely been added to a drink served on the Jakarta to Singapore leg of the flight.
In December 2004, Susilo formed a fact-finding team (TPF), which was given a six-month mandate to assist the police in investigating the murder. The team's mandate ended on June 23, with it producing a lengthy report with detailed findings and recommendations, which included the allegation that certain senior BIN officials played a hand in the murder.
Activists have also urged Susilo to disclose the TPF report and follow it up, such as by establishing a special committee that would supervise the work of the police in relation to the murder case.
To date, the police have only named Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto and two Garuda flight attendants as suspects.
Pollycarpus, who some believe is a BIN agent, is on trial for violating Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty.
Meanwhile, a legislator expressed on Wednesday his disappointment in the police for not making significant progress in the Munir case, indicating that the country protected human rights only on paper.
Slamet Effendi Yusuf, who is the deputy of a House special team to monitor the murder investigation, said the big question of who was really behind the murder had been left unanswered.
"If we want to show the world that we have changed and are taking human rights more seriously, the government better speed up work and reveal the core of the case," he said.