APSN | After 10 years, Munir murder unresolved

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After 10 years, Munir murder unresolved

Jakarta Post - September 2, 2014

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Jakarta – Rights activists and family members of slain rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib will use the 10th anniversary of his murder to build momentum in demanding president-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo take action to finally resolve the case.

"Does Jokowi have the courage to bring the alleged perpetrators to court?" Suciwati, Munir's widow (who is also a human rights activist), rhetorically asked The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Suciwati said that Jokowi would likely have problems resolving the murder case following the appointment of Hendropriyono, a retired general and former head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), as an advisor on Jokowi's transition team. Hendropriyono was allegedly involved in Munir's case.

Even President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had no ties to Hendropriyono and had expressed his commitment to resolving the case, had failed to make a breakthrough.

The executive director of rights group Imparsial, Poengky Indarti, also doubted if Jokowi would have the courage to bring closure to the murder case. She said Jokowi had never made any statements regarding Munir's murder.

"If Jokowi makes a statement that he will resolve the case during his tenure then it is a good start, but so far he has only said he would resolve the enforced disappearance cases from 1998," she said.

Munir, who was a prominent human rights campaigner, was killed on Sept. 7, 2004 during a flight to the Netherlands. He died from arsenic poisoning.

The South Jakarta Court only sentenced two perpetrators, Garuda Indonesia pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto and former Garuda president Indra Setiawan, to 20 years and 12 years imprisonment, respectively, for their roles in the murder of Munir.

Meanwhile, Muchdi Purwoprandjono, a former deputy to the BIN chief who was accused of involvement in the case, was acquitted of all charges against him in late 2011.

Leaked US diplomatic cables, released by WikiLeaks, alleged that Hendropriyono "chaired two meetings at which Munir's assassination was planned" and a witness at those meetings told police that "only the time and method of the murder changed from the plans he heard discussed; original plans were to kill Munir in his office."

With the absence of progress in the past 10 years in the work to find the mastermind behind her husband's murder, Suciwati said she has now set the bar very low.

"He does not have to say or promise anything to the public to prove that he is capable of resolving the case. [Jokowi] only needs to get some work done," she said.

As a start, both Suciwati and Poengky demanded that Jokowi go public with the findings from the investigations carried out by the government-sanctioned fact-finding team (TPF) set up by Yudhoyono to investigate the case.

"The public has the right to know the truth," Poengky said. She said that Jokowi could also order fresh investigations into several more people who were allegedly involved in the case, including Muchdi.

Separately, Usman Hamid, a rights activist who joined the TPF, added that it would be better if Jokowi set up a new investigation team to look into Munir's murder. "The investigation team has to be independent," he said. (ask)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/09/02/after-10-years-munir-murder-unresolved.html.