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.