The plot thickens: Documents reveal four plans to kill Munir
The plot thickens: Documents reveal four plans to kill Munir
Eva C. Komandjaja and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Documents setting out methods and plans to kill human rights
activist Munir have been discovered by the government-sanctioned
fact finding team investigating his murder, supporting initial
speculation that the killing was part of a conspiracy.
Team chairman Brig. Gen. Marsudi Hanafi said on Tuesday that
the documents, whose origins he refused to divulge, described four
methods that could be employed to murder Munir, who was the
cofounder of human rights organizations Kontras and Imparsial.
The first method was to kill Munir while in a car, presumably
through a road accident, while the second method was to use black
magic.
The third and the fourth methods were similar in that they
both involved the poisoning of Munir. The third plan was for
Munir's food to be poisoned at his office in Kontras, but this
allegedly failed as Munir failed to come to work on the
designated day.
"A person working in Munir's office was supposed to add
something to Munir's food but the operation was canceled as
Munir did not show up," Marsudi told journalists at National
Police Headquarters.
However, Marsudi quickly added that the person in question was
not aware that he was being used by the conspirators to
perpetrate the murder.
Only the fourth method succeeded, which involved the poisoning
of Munir with arsenic on board a Garuda Indonesia flight from
Jakarta to Amsterdam on Sept. 7 last year.
Marsudi added that the team had also identified the shop that
sold the arsenic used to kill Munir and would recommend to police
investigators that they act on the team's findings.
"It (the murder) is truly a conspiracy, and if you ask me if a
group or a person did this, then both answers are correct,"
Marsudi said.
Many people have linked the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to
the murder as Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, the only suspect to
be detained so far, is believed to be a BIN agent.
Marsudi denied suggestions that the murder was decided on and
carried out by an institution, but added that there seemed to be
abuse of power involved in the case, meaning that particular
officers of an institution may have used the institution's
facilities to perpetrate the murder.
So far only three people have been declared suspects in the
case -- Pollycarpus, Oedi Irianto and Yeti Susmiyarti.
Pollycarpus was an off-duty pilot who exchanged his business
class seat with Munir during the first leg of the flight from
Jakarta to Singapore, while Yeti and Oedi were flight attendants
who served meals during the flight.
Separately, former intelligence chief A.M. Hendropriyono has
sent an invitation to members of the fact-finding team to discuss
his alleged involvement in the murder of Munir, but the team has
rejected the offer.
Speaking during a press conference held at the team's offices on
Jl. Latuharhary, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, the team's deputy
chairman and human rights activist Asmara Nababan said "such an
invitation is not appropriate."
"Pak Hendropriyono faxed us a letter inviting us to come to
his office for explanatory purposes next Tuesday. Later on, he
sent us a correction -- without an explanation -- informing us
that we could come to his office on Wednesday.
"The letter also said that all of the team's members would be
allowed to attend, except two: Rachland Nashidik and Usman
Hamid," Asmara said.
Hendropriyono's invitation came after the team sent a third
summons to him seeking explanations over his alleged role in the
murder. Hendropriyono rejected the summons, but finally said that
he would give his side of the story to the team, but only if it
followed what he termed "the rules of the game."
Hendropriyono was referring to a protocol signed between the
team and current BIN chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsir Siregar that
authorizes the team to question BIN officials and to access all
relevant documents in the possession of the intelligence service.