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.