INFID, November 25, 2004
INFID's Short News Overview No. V/34: November 19-25, 2004
INFID News
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General News
Munir's wife sent death threat
The wife of human rights activist Munir who was fatally poisoned was sent a
dismembered chicken with a death threat warning her not to publicly blame the
military for her husband's death.
Media reported on Nov. 14 that Munir's wife, Suciawati, received a dead chicken in the
mail on Nov. 13 with a note reading, "Beware. Do not link the Indonesian military with
Munir's death. Do you want to end up like this?"
Suciwati said she and her late husband were used to receiving threats.
"When my husband was still alive, we used to live with terror. We never told the public
about it because we didn't want to give the threats importance," Suciwati said.
The package had been reported to the police who arrived at the family's residence four
hours after the mail arrived. Suciwati, however, said the threat would not drive her to
speculation as to who killed her husband. "The murder could be anyone," she said.
Imparsial director Rachland Nashidik said he and fellow rights activists would not jump
to the immediate conclusion the threats came from elements the military.
"We just want the police to properly investigate the case and refrain themselves from
speculation," he said. The threats, he said, confirmed suspicions that Munir's death
was politically motivated and involved professionals.
The head of the TNI's information center, Major General Sjafrie Syamsoeddin, denied
that any TNI officers were involved in the threats against Munir's family. "I hold the
conviction that TNI officers have a sense of morality. And the morality of the TNI would
not extend to doing this", he said. What is important at the moment explained
Syamsoeddin, is to go forward with the legal investigation into Munir's death. The TNI
he said, fully supports such an investigation.
MM Billah from the National Human Rights Commission said that Munir's murder is a
form of political violence by the state or at the very least a section of the state.
According to Billah this has occurred again and again and if the DPR's Commission
on Legal and Human Rights Affairs does not act it will be taken as sanctioning
continued political assignations in Indonesia.
Sources: AP 21/11, JP 22/11, TI [Indoleft] 22/11, DC [Indoleft] 24/11
House, President back probe into Munir's death
The House of Representatives has agreed to support the establishment of a special
investigative team. The House agreed during a plenary meeting on Nov. 23 to press
the government to establish an independent team, under the President's supervision,
to assist an investigative team formed by the National Police and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. The House also called on the government to hand over a copy of
Munir's autopsy report to his family.
"The House will also set up a team comprising members from Commission I and III to
help resolve the case," the chairman of House Commission III on law, human rights
and security, Agustin Teras Narang, said to a chorus of applause from House
members.
During a meeting between the two commissions later in the day it was decided that
the special team would consists of 15 members representing every major faction in
the House. The House's support for a full-fledged investigation into Munir's death came
only a day after human rights activists and Munir's widow Suciwati met with
Commission III to demand a thorough investigation of Munir's death. The House's swift
endorsement of the establishment of the team was something of a surprise given that
Commission III appeared reluctant to back such a team during a meeting with the
activists.
Scores of rights activists including lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, senior advocate
Adnan Buyung Nasution, member of the National Commission on Human Rights M.M.
Billah, director of human rights watch (Imparsial) Rachland Nashidik, Bambang
Widjojanto and Smita Notosusanto met with the commission to renew their calls for
the speedy inquiry into the mysteries surrounding Munir's death. They also demanded
the establishment of an independent investigating team under the direct supervision of
the President to help the work of the existing team set up by the National Police and
the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has agreed to establish an independent team
to investigate rights campaigner Munir's death and that rights' activists design the
duties and structure of the team. Susilo told Munir's widow on Nov. 24 that the
government would support the independent investigation all the way.
"The President met us and expressed his deepest condolences, he also promised to
set up an (independent) investigation team," Suciwati said after the meeting with
Susilo. During the one-hour meeting, Suciwati was accompanied by noted lawyer
Todung Mulya Lubis, Imparsial director Rachlan Nashidiq and Kontras
secretary-general Moufti Makarim.
Some names touted as team members include former People's Consultative
Assembly speaker Amien Rais, Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Maarif, lawyer
Todung Mulya Lubis, National Commission for Human Rights chairman Abdul Hakim
Garuda Nusantara and officials at the Attorney General's Office.
Meanwhile, presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said the government had asked
for full cooperation from the Dutch government, especially in obtaining the reports of
the forensic examination. "Our investigators who are now in Holland have not been
able to obtain the reports and it is crucial that we get full cooperation to obtain the
certified reports," Dino said.
Sources: JP 23/11 24/11 25/11
News on Munir's Death: Links
'Powerful institution' may be behind Munir's death:
http://www.infid.be/current_issues.html
Munir, Politics and Murder: http://www.infid.be/munir_assasinated.htm
Who Poisoned Munir?: http://www.infid.be/current_issues.html
Poisoning of an Activist a Test Case for Susilo: http://www.infid.be/munir_death.htm
Human Rights activist Munir poisoned: http://www.infid.be/munir_murdered.htm.
'Alternative Nobel' laureates demand investigation: http://www.infid.be/munir_rla.htm.
Constitutional amendments not urgent: Jimly
The Constitutional Court president has said he opposed to any plans to amend the
Constitution in the near future, and instead suggested that the country stabilize the
state system following four amendments in the last five years.
Jimly Asshidiqie warned that too many amendments of the Constitution, the highest
law in the country, would only create problems instead of solving them.
"There were times when we had to amend (the Constitution), there were also times
when we had to consolidate and implement it," Jimly said on Nov. 22 in Bali, where he
is on holiday. "Hopefully, there will be no more amendments. Four are enough."
He was responding to a proposal from the Regional Representatives Council for
another amendment to the Constitution, which provides the new state institution a role
complementary to the House of Representatives, although Council members -- as with
those of the House -- were directly elected in the April polls.
Constitutional amendments require an approval from two-thirds of the People's
Consultative Assembly, which is formed when the House and the Council gather for
an annual session in August. He said the proposal for an amendment was a cause for
concern, because it might be driven by certain political interests. Jimly warned that
such a proposal would open the chance for new ideas that may not be in accordance
with the established constitutional system.
Source: JP 23/11
Indonesia Says "No" to US Conditions for Military Cooperation
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono revealed that the US government had laid down
six conditions if military cooperation between the Indonesia and the US were to be
restored.
He said that the conditions included accountability for resolutions to the East Timor
and Timika issues and transparency in Indonesia's defence budget.
The defence minister said that US demands to suspend senior TNI and police officials
suspected of committing serious human rights violations in East Timor and Timika
could not possibly be met. "This comes under the authority of our courts and we will
not bow to pressure from other countries. So, the conditions set by the US are
inappropriate and Indonesia would find it very difficult to meet them," the defence
minister said on Nov. 22.
When asked whether a resolution to the conflict in Aceh and counter terrorism were
among the conditions proposed by the US if military cooperation was to be
re-established, the defence minister said they were not. "They only wanted budget
transparency in Defence Department and TNI procurement projects," he said.
This condition, according to the defence minister, was not a difficult one because
efforts were being made to improve the management of the defence budget and the
department had initiated budget transparency within the Defence Department and TNI.
The ideal budget for TNI over the next five years was 44-64 trillion rupiah with an
economic growth of around 7 per cent. Currently, the budget has increased to 18
trillion rupiah from 13 trillion rupiah the previous year.
The defence minister has been scheduled to explain the human rights violations to the
US Congress in March or April 2005. During this trip, Juwono was scheduled to deliver
a briefing on the situation in Indonesia and convince the US that it must support
Indonesia. "If they cannot help us, then we will look for another country."
Jakarta has made repeated efforts to have the embargo lifted. It gained the support of
the Bush administration, which sees the Indonesian armed forces as a key ally in the
fight against terror, but the U.S. Congress has rejected the move.
Sources: BMS 23/11, AP 24/11
BPPT verification to confirm Buyat Bay contamination: Minister
State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar expressed optimism on Nov. 23
that the verification of a joint team's investigation into the Buyat Bay would not alter
the results. Rachmat said the verification, carried out by the Agency for the
Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), would deal primarily with
technicalities applied during the investigation.
The joint team -- the latest to conduct tests on Buyat Bay and concluded them a few
weeks ago -- included representatives from the police, the government, activists, the
BPPT, and also mining firm PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR), which has been
accused of polluting the bay. The team study found that the bay was indeed
contaminated with excessive levels of arsenic and mercury, far beyond the safety
levels by any local and international standards. The team also found that the firm had
violated several operating procedures, including the environmental impact assessment
document required to operate a business here. Rachmat said he expected the
verification would be complete in the next two weeks, to allow further moves to be
taken.
Source: JP 24/11
Regional News
Aceh
November 18
Three NGOs - the Centre for Electoral Reform (Cetro), the Aceh Working Group
(AWG) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) -
at a press conference at the offices of Indonesia Human Rights Watch (Imparsial)
condemned the extension of the state of civil emergency in Aceh by the government
though Presidential Decree Number 2/2004. They said President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono has broken his promise to resolve the conflict in Aceh peacefully.
November 20
Aceh military spokesman Ari Mulya Asnawi said soldiers have shot dead five
separatist rebels in the latest arms clashes in the restive province of Aceh. The
rebels, three of whom were in their 20s, were gunned down in separate clashes in five
districts on Nov. 19, he said.
November 21
A military spokesman said troops shot and killed five alleged separatist rebels - four of
whom were unarmed - in the oil- and gas-rich province of Aceh.
The men were killed in separate incidents on Nov. 20 across Aceh, spokesman Ary
Mulya Asnawi said.
November 22
The military said soldiers shot and killed eight suspected rebels in Aceh. The killings
occurred during a gunbattle on Nov. 21 in the northern village of Krueng Aji, military
spokesman Ari Mulya Asnawi said. Troops recovered four assault rifles and hundreds
of rounds of ammunition.
November 23
Yudhoyono said, "I will observe the latest situation and communicate with our
brothers in Aceh the government's goodwill to immediately and effectively end the
conflict that has only led to undesired problems." Yudhoyono will make a one-day trip
to the province on the northern tip of Sumatra on Nov. 26 to meet with local
government and religious officials, said palace spokesman Garibaldi Sudjatmiko.
Palestine and Aceh Limits of Solidarity: http://www.infid.be/aceh_palestine.htm.
Sources: AP 21/11 22/11, JP 20/11, DC [Indoleft] 18/11, AP 24/11
Papua
Human rights advocates fear a new military campaign in Papua province is behind
eight recent deaths and has caused up to 5000 people to flee their villages.
Several groups have issued statements in recent days blaming the military for a
series of incidents in Puncak Jaya regency in the Highlands, warning that the military
is likely to step up operations.
A statement, released in Jayapura and signed by human rights groups Elsham and
Kontras, the Legal Aid Foundation, the Papuan Presidium Council, Students
Organizations in Jayapura and church groups, details a series of killings and attacks
that began on Indonesian Independence Day, August 17.
According to the statement, an army helicopter dropped bombs and shot at villagers
at undisclosed locations on October 17, causing people to flee to the forests. On
October 12 six drivers in Mulia in Puncak Jaya were shot dead in the bloodiest attack
and a priest was killed on September 14, the statement says.
The latest killing occurred on Nov. 12, when Yance Frans Kirioma, a police officer
based at the Mulia police station, was tortured and beaten to death when he and his
11-member team were deployed to monitor the condition of villagers taking refuge in
remote areas of the regency. Reliable sources in the province told The Jakarta Post
by telephone that the local unit of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) was involved
in the incidents. The military said about 100 rebels armed with axes and swords
attacked the government convoy on that day, as they delivered food and medicine in
the Mulia district.
Major Ganda Situmorang, a spokesman for the military in Papua, denied the military
was killing innocent people but declined to discuss the specific allegations. He said
some media reports about the spate of incidents had been "twisted". But John
Rumbiak, the international Advocacy Coordinator of Elsham said the attack might
have been staged by Kopassus.
"It is likely that Papuans have been used to carry out this attack by the army special
forces, Kopassus, who have been using local groups in Papua in the same way they
manipulated East Timorese to fight their own people," he said in a statement released
in Sydney.
Mr Rumbiak said one of the officials wounded in the attack had previously reported
extortion of the local administration by the military who used the money to fund their
crack-down.
The human rights investigator described the latest incident as evidence of an attempt
to "East Timorise" the conflict in Papua.
Destabilization in West Papua to affect leadership of Indonesia's President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono: http://www.infid.be/papua_1811.htm.
'Kopassus Fomenting Papua Unrest': http://www.infid.be/papua_kopassus.htm.
Another Fine Mess in Papua: http://www.infid.be/papua_mess.htm.
Sources: SMH/TA 23/11, TA 18/11, LN 18/11
Abbreviations
AFP Agence France-Presse
AP Associated Press
BMS BBC Monitoring Service
DC Detik.Com
JP The Jakarta Post
LN Laksamana.Net
SMH/TA Sydney Morning Herald/The Age
TA The Age
TI Tempo Interaktif
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