Munir's spirit
Munir's spirit
It was exactly one year ago that we were left in shock at the
news of the death of Munir Thalib Said, one of the country's
boldest and most consistent defenders of human rights.
The shock quickly turned to horror when it was quickly
established that his death was caused by poisoning. An autopsy
conducted by Dutch authorities found four times the lethal dose
of arsenic in his body.
Munir fought against many unspeakable acts during the height
of totalitarianism. The fate that eventually befell him was
initially deemed unthinkable in the new, democratic Indonesia.
It became clear that he had been poisoned while flying on
Garuda Airlines to the Netherlands where he had received a
scholarship to pursue his studies.
In movies, cloak and dagger intrigue is fascinating to watch.
In real life, such events only prove the impunity of the rights
abusers in this country.
Munir was certainly a thorn in the side of the powers that be
who considered themselves above the law. His tireless work can be
traced back to the late 1980s when he began working for the Legal
Aid Institute in Surabaya, East Java. Such was his tenacity that
he eventually handled major cases in Jakarta in the mid 1980s at
the Legal Aid Institute in Jakarta.
In 1998, he co-founded the Commission for Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras). A year later, he was appointed as
a member of the Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights
Violations in East Timor (KPP-HAM) set up by the National Human
Rights Commission.
His tireless desire to uphold respect for human rights, even
during the reformasi era, was again proven when he helped
establish the human rights group Imparsial.
Until recently, his life-long dedication seems to have
received more international recognition than it did from his
beloved country. In 1998, Munir was honored with the prestigious
Yap Thiam Hien human rights award.
It is almost incomprehensible, and downright detestable, that
one year after Munir's murder on Sept. 7, 2004, that we still
have failed to fully uncover the conspiracy behind the murder.
A district court is trying a Garuda pilot named Pollycarpus
Budihari Priyanto for the murder. But it is clear that he did not
work alone.
The persons more dangerous than the man who "pulled the
trigger" are the ones who ordered and planned the assassination.
Murder mysteries can be difficult to investigate. We
understand that about homicide investigations, especially those
that are politically motivated. But what is most upsetting is the
way many institutions have showed an utter disrespect for the
investigation, despite a direct presidential decree instructing
all state institutions to fully cooperate with the investigators.
To this day, there remains limited followup on the government-
sanctioned fact finding team's report, which revealed a highly
suspicious link between Pollycarpus and the state intelligence
agency (BIN).
No wonder team member Asmara Nababan remarked in desperation
two months ago that the public should "conclude for themselves
who should be held responsible" since "untouchables from a feared
intelligence agency" apparently cannot be brought to justice.
We can now understand the kind of frustration Munir felt in
defending the cause of human rights against recalcitrant state
officials who believe themselves to be above the norms and rules
of other Indonesian citizens.
But rather than defeat, we should take strength from Munir's
own inexhaustible determination to pursue what is right and just.
If he was able to endure in so many cases for such a long time
despite extreme hazards, surely we owe it to him to prevail in
this case.
Munir tried to bring peace and justice to so many afflicted
Indonesians. It is time for us to return the favor by bringing
closure to his case.
We must keep the spirit of his determination alive.