Kompas -
September 8, 2010
Jakarta –
Hundreds of people from various groups including as human rights activists,
victims of human rights violations and students demonstrated in front of the
State Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday September 7.
During the
action to commemorate six years since the death of human rights activist Munir,
they urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to fully resolve and expose the
truth behind Munir's murder.
Munir was
found dead on a Garuda Indonesia Airlines flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam on
September 7, 2004. The autopsy carried out by Dutch authorities found that
Munir was killed by arsenic. Although two people have been sentenced over the
case, there are suspicions that the person most responsible has walked free.
Present at
the protest action were leading activists from the Commission for Missing
Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation
(LBH), the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) and several
other non-government organisations.
Kontras
coordinator Haris Azhar said that the Attorney General must report to the president
on the latest developments in the Munir murder case after former State
Intelligence Agency (BIN) Deputy Muchdi Purwopranjono was declared free by the
South Jakarta District Court.
"After
receiving the Attorney General's report, the President must provide direction,
namely submitting a judicial review and seeking legal argumentation", said
Haris.
Haris
suspects that the Attorney General has in fact already reported on developments
in the case to the president. "My assumption is that the president has not
responded", he said.
Speaking
separately, National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Chairperson Ifdhal
Kasim said that the president needs to pay more attention to the case,
particularly to the Attorney General, to fully resolve Munir's murder.
"Following
Muchdi's not guilty verdict, the Attorney General has the legal avenue to
submit a judicial review", said Kasim. In addition to this, the president
needs to instruct the national police chief to find new evidence in the case.
Kasim added
that Komnas HAM has already conducted an examination of the South Jakarta
District Court's verdict against Muchdi. (fer/ato)
[Translated
by James Balowski.]
