Green Left Weekly, June 22, 2005
INDONESIA: Spy agency implicated in activist's murder
James Balowski, Jakarta
Although no-one has been charged with last year's murder of Indonesia's foremost
human rights activist, Munir Said Thalib, evidence is mounting that the prime suspect
in the case, Garuda Airlines pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, was a member of or
working with the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).
Lack of cooperation by BIN and hysterical statements by its former director Ahmad
Hendropriyono belittling the investigation, plus his refusal to be questioned, have only
strengthened suspicions that BIN masterminded the murder.
Thirty-eight-year-old Munir died aboard a Garuda flight shortly before it landed in
Amsterdam on September 7. His death was originally blamed on a heart attack but
the autopsy found he died as a result of arsenic poisoning.
Priyanto gave up his business-class seat to Munir on the Jakarta-Singapore leg of the
flight. Why Priyanto who was off duty at the time and was on the flight has not been
explained and his travel authorisation issued by Garuda's vice-president of corporate
security, Ramelgia Anwar, was later found to have been signed and typed on
September 17, more than a week after the incident.
Two flight attendants who prepared and served Munir's meal are also suspects.
Munir rose to prominence in 1998, when he was involved in investigating the abduction
and torture of pro-democracy activists by the notorious elite special forces, Kopassus.
Kopassus, which has enforced terror in East Timor and Aceh, has also been linked
with Islamist terrorist groups such as Laskar Jihad and Jemaah Islamiah — the latter
group has been blamed for the 2002 Bali bombing and the September 9 bombing of
the Australian embassy in Jakarta.
Munir had criticised BIN over its anti-democratic terrorism bill and colleagues say that
at the time of his death he was investigating a corruption case involving Garuda.
Although Priyanto claims he was recruited by BIN in 2002, the first concrete evidence
linking him with BIN was revealed on May 18 when the Fact Finding Team (TPF)
established by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and tasked with assisting the
police investigation revealed that Priyanto had been in phone contact with BIN.
TPF deputy head Asmara Nababan said Priyanto had called a BIN official via his
mobile phone several times after Munir's death. "We reported to the president that
Polly [Priyanto] had direct contact with someone in BIN", Nababan said. "It means
there is a connection [between BIN and Priyanto], which BIN had previously denied.
But, we must be cautious as we don't want to implicate BIN as an institution."
Nababan declined to identify the official but according to the Jakarta Post, sources
close to the TPF have said they have phone company documents proving calls were
made by Priyanto to BIN's "deputy five" between September and October.
Deputy five at that time was Major General Muchdi Purwopranjono, a former
Kopassus commander who was sacked following Munir's investigation into the 1998
abductions. He was replaced as the deputy director of BIN in August and although
police interviewed him on May 18 they have refused to disclose what they learned.
Priyanto also received calls from Purwopranjono's office over the September-October
period. "At least five calls were made from that number to Pollycarpus' mobile phone",
Nababan told reporters.
Yudhoyono has formally asked BIN to cooperate but its current director, Syamsir
Siregar (who replaced Hendropriyono in October), has so far avoided questioning.
The May 28 Jakarta Post reported that BIN is refusing to provide the TPF with
documents on former BIN agents allegedly implicated in the killing. "We need BIN's
documents that show whether Pollycarpus was recruited by BIN in 2002 as he has
repeatedly claimed. We also need to clarify whether his recruitment was in line with
BIN's anti-terrorism policy", said TPF member Rachland Nashidik.
Former BIN secretary general Djazuli has testified to the TPF that Hendropriyono
endorsed Priyanto's recruitment. Priyanto also named two other former high-ranking
members of BIN who were suspected of knowing about Munir's murder — former BIN
deputy chief overseeing the anti-terrorism desk, retired Major General Muchdi and
former BIN agent Colonel Bambang Irawan.
The May 27 Jakarta Post reported that a source has said Bambang was the
passenger who was seated in the same flight's business class and was believed to
"have given a glass of drink mixed with poison to Munir".
"Questioning of the three men concerned and checking all related BIN documents are
necessary to clarify all of Pollycarpus' statements", Nashidik said. "We have prepared
summonses for the three and are expecting to question them by mid-June. But I'm
worried that they are just trying to buy time", he added, pointing out that the TPF will
end its six-month term on June 23.
One of the team's highest priorities is to question Hendropriyono. He was one of the
Suharto dictatorship's most prominent thugs and was the Jakarta military commander
in 1996 when the headquarters of Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic
Party was attacked by military-backed thugs. The attack resulted in the death of at
least 50 people and sparked three days of mass rioting.
Ironically, Hendropriyono is now a close aide to Megawati and a member of her party.
Questioning Hendropriyono has not proved easy. For some time his whereabouts
were unclear. Then, on May 30, Hendropriyono suddenly lodged a complaint with the
police against the TPF saying it had tarnished his reputation by repeatedly connecting
him with Munir's death.
Hendropriyono said the TPF had told the media he was in the US and was difficult to
track down for questioning. He said he had in fact been in Indonesia since April.
He also lodged a complaint with the Indonesian parliament and is asking it to form a
new team that can "work more effectively".
Hendropriyono has also tried to belittle the case by asking what was so special about
Munir's death. At a May 30 press conference, Hendropriyono's lawyer, Sjamsu Djalal,
said: "And I'm sorry to say this, but who's this Munir anyway that a presidential
regulation had to be issued? A lot of people die, but no regulations are ever made [for
them]."
When asked if he was willing to appear before the TPF, Hendropriyono remained
elusive, saying he had yet to receive a summons. "Where's the summons letter?
Send it to me. I don't answer hypothetical questions, such as [would I attend] if I
received a summons."
At a press conference the following day, Nashidik told reporters that "the erroneous
issue of [his] place of residency, in the United States, actually could have been
resolved directly by explaining it to the chairperson of the TPF. [He] could have used
the phone [and told us] that he is in Jakarta, not by measures which demonstrate a
kind of excessive fear."
Following an interview with Hendropriyono aired on Metro TV on May 31 in which he
accused the TPF of "lacking professionalism", human rights activists called on police
to detain him for "attempts to avoid investigation".
At a press conference on June 1, Edwin Partogi from the Commission for Missing
Persons and Victims of Violence questioned Hendropriyono's motives saying that
while he claims to respect the legal process he is unwilling to give any information to
the TPF.
"We certainly suspect Hendropriyono's sensationalist posture and statements are no
more than an effort to provoke the TPF to become caught up in unnecessary matters.
It also aims to distract the tremendous amount of public attention [away from] the
Munir case", Partogi said.
"The police have sufficient reason to detain Hendropriyono because he has tried to
block the investigation", Johnson Panjaitan of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human
Rights Association said.
Panjaitan told journalists that Hendropriyono is trying to intimidate the TPF, citing
previous cases where the former BIN boss has sued human rights lawyers to prevent
them from proceeding with cases. Panjaitan warned that Hendropriyono still has a lot
of power and asked police to prioritise his questioning.
On June 6, Hendropriyono again failed to turn up for a meeting with the TPF, citing
unspecified business out of town. Djazuli and Suparto were also due to appear for
questioning but neither turned up.
TPF chairperson Police Brigadier General Marsudhi Hanafi announced on June 14 that
the team had found documents detailing four plots to kill Munir, involving engineering a
car accident and poisoning his food at his office. The fourth plot was to poison him
aboard an aircraft. "It was this [plot] which then succeeded", Hanafi told journalists.
Although Hanafi declined to say where the documents were found, he said the TPF
now knows where the arsenic was purchased. He said the findings strengthen the
suspicion that there was a conspiracy to murder Munir.
From Green Left Weekly, June 22, 2005.
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