Susilo urged to speed up probe into Munir's murder
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.