Conspiracy in Munir's death: Probe

Conspiracy in Munir's death: Probe

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The death of respected human rights activist Munir last September
was very likely the result of a conspiracy, a government-
sanctioned fact finding team said.

Brig. Gen. Marsudi Hanafi, who heads the team assigned to
probe Munir's untimely death, said on Thursday the suspicion
followed irregularities found in the management of national flag
carrier Garuda Indonesia in response to the probe.

"There is hard evidence that the murder of Munir is a
conspiracy. There is no way it was committed by individuals,"
Marsudi told the press after reporting the results of their
preliminary investigation to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The team, he added, uncovered indications of the involvement
of certain Garuda employees and a Garuda director in the case,
which occurred aboard a Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam.

"They have issued some letters to cover up some strange facts
related to the murder," said Marsudi.

Munir was found dead a few hours before his plane landed in
Amsterdam. An autopsy by Dutch authorities found excessive
amounts of arsenic in his body, strongly indicating that he had
been murdered.

Another team member, rights activist Asmara Nababan, said the
team also questioned a claim by PT Angkasa Pura that operates
Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Cengkareng that it did not possess
closed-circuit television (CCTV) videotapes of the airport for
Sept. 6, one day before Munir's death.

"There are 700 spots covered by CCTV at the airport, which are
handled by two operators, so how come they said they did not have
the tapes. It's either that management at Angkasa Pura and Garuda
is extremely poor, or that they are part of the conspiracy," he
said.

Marsudi said the team had recommended that the National Police
question the management of Garuda and Angkasa Pura.

Asked why the team only focused on civilian institutions that
did not have an interest in the rights activist, Marsudi replied:
"It's only a preliminary report. We'll think about it later if we
complete this job."

Asmara said both the team and the police would track down the
party behind Garuda's and Angkasa Pura's decision not to
cooperate with them in investigating Munir's murder.

The team has until May to complete their investigation into
the case. Police have not named any suspects as yet.

Munir was known as an outspoken critic of the Indonesian
Military (TNI) and its part in past gross human rights
violations.

Standing on stairs near the press room, National Intelligence
Agency (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar closely watched the media
conference. He refused to comment afterwards.

State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the President fully
supported the investigation and ordered all state institutions to
assist the team.

"The President asserts that all state institutions, including
BIN, must provide data or accept requests for interviews whenever
it might be needed by the team," he said.

Garuda last month canceled a planned reconstruction of the
events surrounding Munir's murder, saying that several of its
cabin crews were on duty.

The reconstruction, using the same Garuda GA 974 and the same
cabin crews who flew Munir and other passengers to Amsterdam, was
expected to shed the light on the murder of the rights
campaigner.