Two Ways to Strike a Blow Against Impunity in Indonesia

Alert Issue: June 22, 2005

Before we ask you to take action this week, we want you to see something. To understand Munir’s courage and leadership, you should see him in action. Please click on the link at the bottom of the text.

The term of the fact-finding team investigating his death expires on June 23. Even as the investigation races the clock to complete its inquiry, high ranking intelligence officials have refused to face their questions. The former head of the intelligence agency has mocked the team and filed libel suits against two of its members. Even more troubling, the police have been slow to follow up on the information uncovered by the team.

Munir spoke out courageously on the need to hold the military accountable for serious human rights violations. But on June 21, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved a version of the foreign operations spending bill that omits existing restrictions on the provision of weapons to the Indonesian military. These restrictions are an important tool to encourage military reform, including accountability for violations of human rights in East Timor.

Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) are circulating a letter to President Bush urging that he reconsider plans to restore full military relations with Indonesia. While the committee vote is a setback, this letter will help signal support for continuing to make military cooperation with Indonesia conditioned on progress on human rights.

Click here to watch a short clip of Munir speaking out against violence and the abuse of power.

After you’ve seen the video, if you are located in the United States please take action by asking your Representative to sign on to the letter urging restraint in renewing military ties with Indonesia. The letter cites the Munir case among other human rights abuses in Indonesia.

In addition to sending a letter, we also urge supporters around the world to use your cell phone to send a text message to President Yudhoyono at +629949. The message should politely request that the president:

• direct the police to follow up on the recommendations of the fact-finding team

• create a new monitoring team with a strong mandate

The investigation

On the night of September 6, 2004, Munir left Jakarta for the Netherlands, where he had received a scholarship to study international humanitarian law. By the time he reached his first stop, Singapore, he was already feeling sick. On the flight to Amsterdam Munir began vomiting violently and experiencing severe pain. A doctor on board attempted to treat him, but he died early on the morning of September 7. An autopsy by the Dutch Forensic Institute found that Munir's system had four times the safe level of arsenic.

After considerable delay Munir's wife, Suciwati, was given a copy of the autopsy report by the police department's head of criminal investigation on December 6.

President Yudhoyono met with Munir's wife and colleagues late in 2004 and pledged to support an independent investigation. The human rights community in Indonesia submitted a proposal to the government including membership and mandate of an independent team and met with the police to agree on the scope of the team.

Yudhoyono eventually green-lighted an independent team in late December through Presidential Decision No. 111/2004. However, the team's limited scope and membership disappointed many observers. Several high-profile figures were left off the final team, and its mandate was limited to “helping” the police investigation from a subordinate position without clear powers to evaluate the investigation, provide unsolicited advice, or question experts. Several potential members declined to join the team, describing it as “planned to fail,” though most decided to do what they could with the limited mandate. The team is chaired by a one-star police general and includes the prominent human rights figures Asmara Nababan, Kamala Tjandrakirana, Usman Hamid, Rachland Nashidik, Hendardi and Munarman. It met for the first time on January 13.

Over the next few months the team made the most of its mandate, focusing first on the role of the Garuda pilot who had convinced Munir to take his seat in business class. The man, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, had piloted planes in conflict areas of Papua and East Timor. He had also allegedly called Munir’s house to confirm his travel dates several days before his death. The team also uncovered signs of high-level involvement in the murder or its cover-up, such as a backdated letter from top Garuda officials authorizing Pollycarpus’ travel. In March the police named Pollycarpus and two cabin staff as suspects, but failed to file charges against senior Garuda officials.

The fact-finding team began focusing on the State Intelligence Agency, known by its Indonesian acronym BIN. After some resistance the team met with several BIN officials, but not with retired generals and former intelligence officials A.M. Hendropriyono and Muchdi Purwopranjono, who failed to appear at several meetings arranged by the team.

The team was able to locate phone records showing that Pollycarpus had made some 35 calls to BIN headquarters before and after Munir’s death. They also found documents that reportedly lay out plans to kill Munir through poisoning, a staged car accident, or even black magic.

In a recent interview, Hendropriyono complained that allegations had affected him “in a very big way. For instance, here I am hosting a visit by some overseas colleagues. When it came time to drink refreshments, they asked me: 'No arsenic, right?' Of course they were joking, but nevertheless it hurt.” He has filed a libel suit against two members of the fact-finding team, a tactic he has employed against human rights defenders in the past (see alert).

Munir's Work

Munir came to prominence as an outspoken critic of the military in the chaotic years surrounding President Suharto’s fall from power. Munir and the organizations he helped to build went on to play an important role in many of the major human rights issues in the country, combining fearless advocacy and meticulous research.

Munir worked in various positions at the Legal Aid Foundation before founding the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Kekerasan, or Kontras) in 1998. Kontras played an important role in the struggle for accountability after the disappearance of pro-democracy activists during the transition from authoritarian rule. The organization was also at the forefront of human rights investigations into state violence in East Timor, Ambon, and Aceh. Munir had recently helped found a new NGO, Imparsial, and was serving as its Executive Director.

He also served on the Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations in East Timor after the violence there in 1999. Munir played an important role in uncovering evidence of military responsibility for the violence and recommending action against high-ranking officers.

Dear [Representative],

I would like to urge you to sign on to the letter to President Bush now being circulated by Representatives Lowey and Smith. The letter calls on the Bush Administration to reconsider plans to restore full military ties with Indonesia. This is a critical time for military reform in Indonesia, and efforts to remove the last remaining limits to military ties will place hard-won democratic gains at risk.

Indonesia has indeed made some encouraging steps towards democratization in recent years. However, there have been steps backward in military accountability and reform. Serving military officers have been given the green light to occupy some civilian positions, and soldiers may take temporary leave to run for election in Indonesia’s first direct election of local officials.

International calls for accountability for the violence in East Timor have been ignored. A tribunal in Jakarta became a mechanism of impunity, with all military defendants acquitted. Now the Indonesian government is proposing a bilateral “Truth and Friendship Commission” with East Timor. The terms of reference of that commission appear to put the interests of perpetrators before those of the victims. With a United Nations report on accountability for East Timor to be released soon, this is an especially poor time to reduce pressure on the military to end impunity.

As noted in the letter from Representatives Lowey and Smith, the murder of a leading human rights defender, Munir, has also revived fears of a return to an era of fear and violence. Munir’s death has not been linked to active members of the military. However, many of the intelligence officials accused of obstructing the investigation are retired generals. In addition, Munir’s life work was the struggle for accountability for human rights violations by the military. He founded the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in response to the disappearance of pro-democracy activists in 1998. To this day military officials refuse to even appear before the National Commission on Human Rights to provide information about more than a dozen missing young activists.

The United States already has numerous options available to engage with the Indonesian military and police on issues of national security, such as counterterrorism. The existing limits on full military relations serve a crucial role, maintaining pressure for military reform and accountability. Please sign on to the letter calling for restraint in restoring full military ties with Indonesia.