Jakarta – Representatives of a protest action by an alliance of civil society organisations including the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (KASUM), handed over 82 dossiers and a flash disk to a commissioner from the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) on Friday September 6.
Kontras Legal Division Head Andi Muhammad Rezaldy said that the scores of documents contain data and information to support an investigation into the 2004 assassination of renowned human rights activist Munir Said Thalib.
"The documents we compiled are based on elements of humanitarian crimes as contained in the law on human rights courts", said Rezaldy in front of the Komnas HAM offices in Central Jakarta on Friday.
Rezaldy also admitted to being surprised because the documents could just have easily been obtained independently by Komnas HAM.
But as a form of participation and at the request of Komnas HAM, the civil society alliance voluntarily compiled the documents as a form of support so that the Munir murder case will be thoroughly investigated.
On that occasion, Rezaldy also requested that this year, Komnas HAM immediately investigate the Munir case. He also expressed regret that a 2005 trial into the case did not uncover the mastermind behind Munir's assassination.
Up until now the existing criminal justice system, he said, has been unable to reveal these allegations even though there were a number of findings discovered by the Munir Fact Finding Team (TPF).
Therefore, the civil society alliance is urging the government to immediately designate the Munir case as a gross human rights violation and not just an ordinary murder.
"We encourage and urge Komnas HAM to immediately declare the assassination of Cak [Brother] Munir as a gross human rights violation", he said.
Komnas HAM also held an audience with 15 representatives from the protest action. They have accepted the documents and issued a receipt designated Number 001/Bastb/PHB IX/2024 dated September 6, 2024.
Komnas HAM sub-commission coordinator for human rights advancement, Anis Hidayah, confirmed that Komnas HAM still considers the Munier assassination to be a gross human rights violation.
He also stated that they are still investigating and are committed to resolving the case to ensure that there was no impunity and to ensure that there will be no repeat of a similar incident, especially against human rights defenders in Indonesia.
"In January 2023 Komnas HAM formed ad hoc team to investigate gross human rights violations in the Munir murder, and to this day we are still working to complete the investigation process", said Hidayah.
Hidayah said they have already summoned a number of witnesses and were in the middle of and continuing to gather comparative and supporting documents as evidence.
He also gave assurances that Komnas HAM is committed to resolving the case so that the investigation can be concluded and the results submitted to the Attorney General's Office.
Because the protesters from the #20TahunKasusMunir (#20YearsMunirCase) had sealed off the Komnas HAM offices earlier in the afternoon by placing a seal and padlock on the main entrance gate, Hidayah was unable to enter the offices after holding the audience with the representatives.
"I'll come back to work later to complete the investigation, because the office is sealed [at the moment]", said Hidayah chuckling. "Hopefully friends will continue to remind us [about the case]", he added.
"As a representative of Komnas HAM, I apologise that the process we are carrying out is seen as convoluted, considered to take a lot of time. But we do indeed need time to ensure the investigation process can be conducted [properly]", he said. (khr/fra)
Notes
Renowned human rights defender Munir died of arsenic poisoning onboard a Garuda Indonesia flight on September 7, 2004. Although off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto was convicted of the murder in 2005, the alleged mastermind behind the assassination, former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy Muchdi Purwoprandjono, was later acquitted of all charges. Also implicated in the murder but never investigated was former BIN chief AM Hendropriyono. Hendropriyono, a close ally of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, was cited in US diplomatic cables leaked in 2011 as being involved in the planning of the murder. In 2014 Hendropriyono was appointed an advisor to newly elected President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
[Abridged translation by James Balowski based on two articles by CNN Indoensia on September 6. The original title of the lead article was "Aliansi Masyarakat Sipil Serahkan 82 Berkas Kasus Munir ke Komnas HAM".]
