'Police, intelligence agency are ignoring the President'

It has been nine months since the murder of rights activist Munir in September and the government appointed fact-finding team is scheduled to end its investigation next month. The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti talked to Munir's widow Suciwati, as she prepares to go abroad next month to speak about her husband's case. Below are excerpts of the interview:

Question: How do you feel as end of the fact-finding team's investigation draw to an end?

Answer: There is no use in extending its term as requested by the House of Representatives -- as we expected the members have faced stumbling blocks along the way. A prolonged investigation might lead people to think that if the team fails (to uncover the truth behind Munir's murder) then it was its fault; that the government has done enough by showing its political will in forming the team, while it should actually be the police who do the real investigative work. If not, then the team would only be a tool for the government to wash its hands of the case.

The President should be going after the investigators who are barely moving; (to push them to discover) who is the next suspect after the lower-level one (pilot Pollycarpus B. Priyanto) was named. The President should know that the National Police and the state intelligence body (BIN) are ignoring him -- although they agreed in front of him to help the fact-finding team and share any requested information, they have made the job of the team difficult.

This is my question: Why, despite the green light from the President assuring their cooperation, are things getting slower. The fact-finding team has made several recommendations on what the police should investigate (like the several telephone calls between Pollycarpus and a senior BIN official). Is (the lack of further investigation) because the police must face their own seniors in BIN?

Could you share your plans with us about what you will do when you go to the United States?

I've been invited by the Carter Center (in Atlanta) to talk about human rights defenders, and Munir was one of them who we believe was eliminated because of his thoughts and actions. It is very important to share the Munir case, to show that something like this can still happen amid the country's efforts to democratize; the direct elections and a directly elected president. The case should be resolved; otherwise, what's the point of the President meeting all his subordinates to urge their cooperation, is it just for show?

In Austria I've been invited to the annual meeting of recipients of the Right Livelihood Award (Munir was one of them), where I will urge each attendant to raise the case with their respective governments, which in turn would also ask President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono about the progress of the case, in which indications pointing at the BIN's implication are becoming clear.

Several other cases remain unresolved over the years from the deaths of dissenters in Lampung, to the May 1998 riots. How could we expect Munir's case to be any different?

From the murder (in 1993) of (labor rights activist) Marsinah to the May riots, Munir was at the center of investigations into all these (cases). If his case in all its complexity can be revealed there could be some light shed on the others. The family of (former justice) Baharuddin Lopa (who died in suspicious circumstances when disembarking from a plane in Saudi Arabia in 2001) said they would request an autopsy of Lopa if Munir's case was resolved.

Don't you fear for your own safety in pursuing this case? You said you were recently terrorized through a letter threatening that you would be killed.

Where in Indonesia can anyone be safe? We can be hurt anywhere and by any means without the state protecting us at all (the country still lacks a witness protection program among other safeguards). This is the crucial momentum to pursue Munir's case; staying silent is tantamount to accepting and even condoning such actions.

But the layman may want the government to focus on the economy so he can feed his family and get a decent job rather than prioritizing past human rights violations. Your comment?

As a victim I hope the government continues to prioritize human rights. If you forcibly took the land of a farmer, that would also be against his right to livelihood. Human rights isn't something from the West, it is attached to every individual. I can't express much about these things but surely a nation which wants to progress should be one which respects the rights of its citizens.

What are your plans for the future?

To have this case thoroughly resolved and to seek justice for our family, so that the mastermind (behind the murder) is revealed and punished. I don't ask for much. Meanwhile, I'm trying to rebuild a life with the children (son Alif, 6, and daughter Difa, 3). Alif understands that he will not see his father again. He read the messages of condolence on all the wreaths that came to our house. But Difa sometimes asks, "where is Abah (father)?", like when we went out recently with Munir's colleagues. I was taken aback, I just said he was working.