Susilo backs probe into Munir's death

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.