Ex-Bin chief lobbies House over Munir probe

Tony Hotland and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Gen. (ret) A.M. Hendropriyono has further displayed his aversion to a fact- finding team set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to probe the death of human rights activist Munir, and equivocated as to whether he would fulfill a summons from the team.

One day after he reported two members of the team, Rachland Nashidik and Usman Hamid, to the police for alleged defamation, Hendropriyono on Monday lobbied members of the separate case monitoring team formed by the House of Representatives.

Hendropriyono said he respected both the House and the police, and would definitely appear before the two institutions if they ever summoned him for questioning.

"But if (the President's fact-finding team) summons me, we'll have to see about that," he said.

The fact-finding team has linked both BIN and Hendropriyono to the death of Munir, who died of arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda flight to Amsterdam on Sept. 7 last year.

Police have named three Garuda crew members as suspects, including pilot/aviation security officer Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who the team found had been recruited by BIN.

The team was established on the basis of Presidential Regulation No. 111/2004 signed on Dec. 23 last year, enabling the team to question people thought to be connected with the case, to monitor the police probe, and to recommend suspects.

Hendropriyono was evasive when asked whether he would appear before the fact-finding team, saying that he had yet to receive a summons.

"Where's the summons letter? Send it to me. I don't answer hypothetical questions, such as (would I attend) if I received a summons," he said.

Hendropriyono said his visit to the House was to convey to legislators that statements made by two fact-finding team members were "completely biased and irrelevant."

"They said that I had flown to the United States to seek protection. They also wanted to seek help from the (Indonesian) foreign ministry to trace me. I've been here all along.

"As a person who has nothing to do with the death of Munir, I'm really perturbed by their statements," he said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Hendropriyono's lawyer Syamsu Djalal, who is a former military police chief.

"And I'm sorry to say this, but who's this Munir anyway that a presidential regulation had to be issued? A lot of people die, but no regulations are ever made (for them)," he said.

Chairman of the House's monitoring team Taufikurahman Saleh said they planned to hold a hearing with Hendropriyono some time this week to seek clarification about his position in the murder case.

Separately, Rachland said the fact-finding team would send a summons to Hendropriyono on Tuesday at the latest for questioning scheduled for Monday next week.

"We will summon Hendropriyono as an individual and hope to hear his clarifications about the case," Rachland, an executive of human rights watchdog Imparsial, said on Monday.

The team also plans to seek clarifications from other BIN officials who were active at the time of Munir's murder.

"Instead of filing a report against us with the police, it would be better for Hendropriyono just to clarify the matter with the team. And to avoid suspicion, he should fulfill our summons," said Rachland.

The team would not stop their investigations into Munir's death despite the complaint to the police, Usman added.