Munir's wife pushes for UNHCR involvement

Munir's wife pushes for UNHCR involvement

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Munir's wife, Suciwati, has won the support of international
human rights groups in her struggle to bring those responsible
for her husband's assassination to justice, and is pushing for
the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights (UNHCHR) to
monitor the investigations into the case.

"Delegates, the people of Geneva, and several Non-Government
Organizations (NGOs), have expressed their full support. I hope
that this support will put pressure on the UN to monitor the
investigation and the trial. The UN should push for the trial to
reveal and punish the masterminds of this evil scheme," she told
The Jakarta Post by telephone from Geneva on Friday.

Suciwati delivered her testimony at the 61st session of the
UNHCHR at Geneva, telling delegates that a gross human rights
violation had taken place in Indonesia against a defender of
human rights, and that the world should pay attention to the
case.

"Distinguished Chairperson and delegates, I wish to raise the
matter of my husband's death, Munir, an Indonesian human rights
defender who died aboard a Garuda Airline's aircraft. He was
poisoned ... he was killed because of his activities in striving
for the promotion and protection of human rights," she told the
commission on Wednesday.

"This is why I am bringing this case to this UN session. I am
demanding that the international community, especially the
members of this commission and the UNHCHR, continuously monitor
and put pressure on the Indonesian government to reveal the case
in an honest and transparent manner," she told delegates from 53
countries in her closing statement.

She also held a meeting with Makarim Wibisono, an Indonesian
diplomat who chaired the commission, discussing the apparent
involvement of national intelligence agents in her husband's
murder.

"He said that he would do his best to prevent anyone from
halting the ongoing investigations or the trial. Let's just wait
and see," Suciwati said.

Rafendy Djamin, a coordinator for the Coalition for
International Human Rights Advocacy, said in a press release that
Makarim's support was expected as a commitment to improve human
rights in Indonesia.

"We asked Makarim Wibisono to support the investigation into
Munir's death and to put it on his political agenda to promote
human rights in Indonesia," Rafendy said.

Makarim was elected as the chairman of UNHCHR on Jan. 17 of
this year. His appointment is widely expected to help improve
the human rights condition in Indonesia.

Munir, one of Indonesia's top human rights campaigners, was
killed on board a Garuda aircraft en route to Amsterdam on Sept.
7, 2004. He was poisoned with arsenic. Indonesian authorities,
who so far have only named one suspect, have been strongly
criticized for the slow progress of the investigation. (006)