Susilo backs probe into Munir's death

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has agreed to establish an independent team to investigate rights campaigner Munir's death and that rights' activists design the duties and structure of the team.

Susilo told Munir's widow on Wednesday that the government would support the independent investigation all the way.

"The President met us and expressed his deepest condolences, he also promised to set up an (independent) investigation team," Suciwati said after the meeting with Susilo.

During the one-hour meeting, Suciwati was accompanied by noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, Imparsial director Rachlan Nashidiq and Kontras secretary-general Moufti Makarim.

Munir, the founder of both Imparsial and Kontras, died on a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam, the Netherlands on Sept. 7.

An autopsy by a Dutch forensic team showed high levels of arsenic in Munir's stomach, blood and urine, suggesting that the rights activist had been poisoned.

Kontras and Imparsial suggested earlier that Munir had been murdered by powerful institutions, but declined to name anyone.

Munir was a fearless fighter against human rights abuses perpetuated by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police.

Upon arrival from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Santiago on Tuesday evening, Susilo said Munir's case would be among his main priorities in his first 100 days in office.

Rachlan said they would submit the draft on the team's duties and structure as well as names of people that could be included in the team to the President's office in the next two days.

"We want the team to be directly under the President and we will submit the concept in the next two days. This will be a pro- justicia team as we do not want any action outside the law," he said after the meeting.

The independent team, Rachlan said, would complement the police's own investigation.

Some names touted as team members include former People's Consultative Assembly speaker Amien Rais, Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Maarif, lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, National Commission for Human Rights chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara and officials at the Attorney General's Office.

Meanwhile, presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said the government had asked for full cooperation from the Dutch government, especially in obtaining the reports of the forensic examination.

"Our investigators who are now in Holland have not been able to obtain the reports and it is crucial that we get full cooperation to obtain the certified reports," Dino said.