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.