Team to probe Munir's death proposed
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Activists and close friends of noted rights campaigner Munir submitted on Friday, to the government, candidates for an independent team, who would assist the police in investigating his mysterious death.
The Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) nominated 14 people, comprising lawyers, legal experts, rights activists, police, members of the House of Representatives, and prosecutors.
Among the proposed candidates are Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Maarif, rights campaigner Asmara Nababan, lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, legal experts Bambang Widjojanto and Hendardi, and chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara.
"The candidates were selected based on their expertise, integrity and credibility. Their main mandate is to monitor and evaluate the investigation being conducted by the police," Imparsial director Rachlan Nashidiq told The Jakarta Post.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed on Wednesday to establish an independent team to probe Munir's death, leaving the design and the structure of the team to rights activists.
The team will work alongside the police's team, which is currently in the Netherlands to obtain the original copy of the results of the autopsy on Munir.
According to the draft, the team will report to the President and complete its work within three months after embarking on its mission. Its working period can be extended for another three months.
The draft says the team is authorized to convey opinions to the police, summon and question people connected to the case when necessary, and recommend to the President policies to prevent political assassinations in the future.
"I submitted the draft to the President's spokesman, Andi Mallarangeng, who said he would immediately hand it over to the President," said Rachlan.
Imparsial, said Rachlan, would refrain from intervening in the team's work, which the team would fully control.
Munir, the founder of both Imparsial and Kontras, died aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight heading to the Netherlands on Sept. 7. An autopsy conducted by a Dutch team showed high levels of arsenic in his body, raising speculation that he had died of poisoning.
Also on Friday, the Dutch parliament said it would hold an emergency debate next Tuesday over Munir's death.
"Mr. Munir was a human rights activist, and such people should get international protection," Farah Karimi from the Groenlinks Party told AFP, adding that Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner and Foreign Minister Bernard Bot would also take part in the debate.
Meanwhile, the police are scheduled to quiz 10 more witnesses on Saturday, including a number of Garuda Indonesia crew members.
"We have questioned 13 people so far, including some of Munir's relatives and Garuda crew members. Tomorrow (today) we plan to question 10 more people who were around Munir that day," National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung said.
He added that the government had sent Director General of American and European Affairs with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Arizal Effendi, to the Netherlands to join the six- member police team.