Susilo urged to speed up probe into Munir's murder
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Rights activists on Friday urged the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to speed up the investigation into the murder of the country's top rights campaigner Munir.
The call came after a special team tasked to assist the police in the investigation submitted its report on the case to the President at the end of its tenure three weeks ago.
A former member of the now-defunct fact finding team, Rachland Nashiddik from the Indonesian human rights watchdog Imparsial, also asked the President to set up a commission that would monitor the work of the police and make sure that people implicated in the murder case be put on trial.
According to the fact-finding team's report, several former and active members of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) were implicated in the case. The 100-page report, which has not been released to the public, also explains the roles of each of the suspects in the murder case.
Munir died in September last year on board a Garuda aircraft flying from Jakarta to Amsterdam. According to an autopsy carried out by Dutch authorities, the activist, who had been a strong critic of the military for their human rights violations, died from arsenic poisoning.
"About ten days ago we submitted to the President's close aide several names to join the commission. Now, we are waiting for the President as to whether he will agree to our proposal.
"One thing for sure is that the commission must have the power to ensure that the case proceeds properly," Rachland told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He said that the political support of the President was crucial to ensure a thorough investigation of the case.
Police have declared a Garuda pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, as a suspect in the murder case. Pollycarpus, whom many believe was also a BIN agent, had been accused of facilitating the murder when he offered Munir his business class seat during the flight.
The fact-finding team in their report also criticized the police for their poor performance in handling the case, although Rachland acknowledged that after the investigation team had been replaced with new faces the police seemed to work more seriously. The investigation team is now led by Brig. Gen. Marsudhi Hanafie, who was previously head of the fact-finding team.