Time is up for BIN agents 'to clarify'
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Former BIN chief A.M. Hendropriyono has missed his chance to clarify the facts obtained by the fact-finding team investigating the murder of rights campaigner Munir, as the Thursday deadline set by the team has passed.
Speaking at a press conference held at the team's office on Jl. Latuharhary in Central Jakarta, deputy chairman of the team and rights activist Asmara Nababan said Hendropriyono's failure to respond to summonses would not be left out of the team's report to the President.
"We will also consider that he (Hendropriyono) does not dispute any of the facts obtained by the team, and that the team shouldn't have to seek (further) clarification from him," Asmara said.
A similar stance has been taken regarding other BIN agents, including former deputy BIN chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi PR and Col. (ret) Bambang Irawan.
Asmara said the team had fixed its investigation on several suspects but refused to disclose their names.
The team's secretary-general, Usman Hamid, said several BIN officials had had an incriminating involvement in the murder, "but we don't have the authority to name this person or that person as suspects."
Separately, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar promised to follow up the team's recommendations, and "if it is necessary, we (the police) can summon Hendropriyono for clarification."
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono set up the team on Dec. 23 to assist with the police's investigation of the murder.
Many people have linked BIN to the murder as Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, the only suspect to be detained so far, is believed to be a BIN agent.
The team has summoned Hendropriyono -- who headed the intelligence institution when Munir was murdered -- three times, and Thursday's deadline was the last chance for Hendropriyono, who is alleged to have known about the murder, to clarify as the team will make its final recommendations to the President on June 23.
The team will also detail in its report problems faced while accessing related documents at BIN's office, despite a signed protocol between the team and the current BIN Chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsir Siregar.
The team is seeking to clarify seven documents, including -- according to a reliable source -- a list of BIN employees and agents, reports on BIN's weaponry and BIN's storage facility for weapons, as well as records on the handover of the BIN secretary- general post from Nurhadi Djazuli to Soeparto.
Nurhadi, whose ambassadorial assignment was suspended following the case, is believed to be the BIN official "who recruited and introduced Pollycarpus to BIN's top authorities."
Separately, Hendropriyono's lawyer Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsu Djalal said there was still time for the team to question his client, even though the team had not shown up when Hendropriyono invited it to his office.
Earlier, the team disclosed that based on documents found during the investigation, there had been four attempts to murder Munir. The first attempt 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, but 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.