House urges govt act on Munir's death case, or else

Kurniawan Hari and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

House of Representatives legislators urged the government to take the suspicious death of human rights activist Munir seriously, if it did not want the country to come under mounting criticism from the international community.

"Munir was a human rights activist who had won international recognition. This case must not expose us to widespread criticism," legislator Slamet Effendy Yusuf of the Golkar Pary told a hearing with Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda here on Thursday.

Abdillah Toha, of the National Mandate Party (PAN), called on the government to ensure the case was resolved in a transparent way.

The government and police have been criticized for their slow and less-than-forthcoming treatment of Munir's autopsy report and a seeming reluctance to form an independent investigation team into the case.

Indonesia has often in the past faced criticism for its failure to prove its commitment to human rights.

Munir, a former critic of the Indonesian Military, died of arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda flight en route to Amsterdam in September. He had left for Holland after winning a scholarship to study law in Utrecht.

The Netherlands Forensic Institute performed an autopsy on Munir, the result of which was sent to the Indonesian government.

Hassan said on Thursday the foreign ministry officially received the report on Nov. 11 from the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta. At that time, Hassan was in Myanmar, for an official trip.

However, he said he had been informed about the autopsy on Oct. 28 from visiting Dutch foreign minister Bernard Botwho told him of indications of arsenic content in Munir's organs.

"It was verbal information that I could not use as a reference. So, I told my colleagues to speed up the process," he said.

Separately, Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi said the process to determine the structure and authority of an independent team of investigation into Munir's death was still underway.

Clarifying news reports saying that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had shelved the proposal of an independent team, Sudi said it would take time to establish such a team.

"The President has never said he rejects the proposal, as he has assigned both the National Police chief and Attorney General to look into the proposal. But it will take some time," Sudi said on Thursday.

He said that the two high-ranking state officials were ordered by the President to communicate with Munir's widow, Suciwati, regarding the plan to form the independent team.

"It will be formed sometime, but maybe not in the near future," Sudi said.

Earlier on Tuesday Sudi said the President had ordered the two high-ranking officials to ensure public accountability of the ongoing investigation.

Sudi said the President was bothered by reports of human rights activists who had lamented his decision to put off the team's establishment.

"The President was disappointed by the news reports and asked me to clarify that he has never rejected the proposal to establish the team, and to stress there is an ongoing communication with Munir's wife, Suciwati," Sudi said.

When asked why the police and Attorney General's Office had never contacted Suciwati regarding the establishment of the team, Sudi said: "Maybe they have prepared other measures ... I have not discussed it further with them."