Team to probe Munir's death proposed
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.