Eko Nopiansyah, Jakarta – Edwin Partogi, the operational head of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), has said that retired Major General Muchdi Purwoprandjono’s request to the Muslim Defender Team to assist him in the case of the murder of human rights activist Munir proves that the TNI (Indonesian military) does not support him.

“This is a positive signal that must be taken advantage of by the police to conduct the investigation”, he said when contacted in Jakarta on Sunday February 5.

According to Partogi, the request for assistance from the Muslim Defender Team is an unusual affair. Usually the TNI assists its members who are affected by legal problems through the TNI’s Legal Development Agency.

Partogi explain that what has become an obstacle in the investigation is that Purwoprandjono is that he is a former Kopassus general (elite special forces). Partogi suspects that with the involvement of the Muslim Defender Team the case will now be turned into a religious issue. “Religious groups must pay close attention, is their position is in fact being profited from or actually taken advantage of?”

[Translated by James Balowski.]