Ex-BIN chief snubs team investigating Munir case
Ex-BIN chief snubs team investigating Munir case
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
With just two weeks left of its mandate, a government-sanctioned
fact-finding team remains unable to speak with former National
Intelligence Body (BIN) chief A.M. Hendropriyono over possible
links between the body and the poisoning death of rights activist
Munir last September.
Hendropriyono failed to turn up for a scheduled meeting with
the team at the Jakarta office of the National Commission on
Violence Against Women on Monday, citing unspecified business out
of town.
His lawyer, Sjamsu Djalal, said his client wanted to cooperate
with the team, provided that any summons from the team was
conveyed "in accordance with procedures".
Sjamsu submitted on Monday a letter from Hendropriyono to the
team informing it of his unavailability to answer questions.
The lawyer, a former chief of the Military Police, said
Hendropriyono had some objections to the way the team summoned
him, which he called "non-procedural and unprofessional".
"The team must pay attention to the protocol of cooperation it
signed with BIN. The team should not have told the press they
would chase after him (Hendropriyono) to the United States.
"He also objects to the terms 'summons' or 'questioning', as
people could get the impression that he is a suspect. That is
defamation," Sjamsu told The Jakarta Post.
He told the fact-finding team to come up with a more
"professional, polite and fair" invitation, which he said would
require the team to coordinate with BIN.
Hendropriyono has filed a police report accusing the fact-
finding team of defamation.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono set up the fact-finding
team on Dec. 23 to help the police investigate the death of
Munir, who died aboard a Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam.
Dutch authorities performed an autopsy on Munir and found
excessive levels of arsenic in his system.
Police have named three Garuda employees as suspects in the
case, but the team has said that it has also uncovered
indications of BIN's involvement in the case.
The President extended the team's mandate until June 23 and
has asked BIN to cooperate with its members.
The head of the team, Brig. Gen. Marsudi Hanafi, said his
team had summoned Hendropriyono as properly and politely as
possible.
Marsudi also questioned Hendropriyono's suggestion the team
consult with BIN before questioning him.
"If he is still part of BIN, we would include him in the
protocol of cooperation signed with BIN. But if not, then a
regular invitation is sufficient. We asked his lawyer about this
but did not receive a response," Marsudi said.
Several other former and current BIN officials have refused to
respond to summons from the team for questioning, despite the
protocol agreement signed by the team and current BIN chief
Syamsir Siregar, which should allow the team to summon officials
and access important documents.