Indonesian authorities have named two more Garuda crew members as suspects in the case of the murdered human rights activist, Munir aboard a flight on the national airline last year. The two, who have not been arrested, are being questioned by police about the food served to Munir who died as a result of arsenic poisoning while travelling to Amsterdam. A Garuda pilot, Polycarpus has previously been charged with conspiracy to murder and falsifying documents. The high profile case is regarded by Indonesian society at large as a test of the new government's democratic credentials.
Presenter/Interviewer: Karon Snowdon.
Speakers: Rachland Nashidik, Executive Director of Munir's human rights group, Imparisal.
Snowdon: Its D-day for the powerful Indonesian National Intelligence Agency, the BIN. The fact finding team of police and civil rights groups which has the President's blessing to investigate Munir's murder is meeting with BIN's Chief, Syamir Siregar.
He will be asked to not only apply the considerable investigative powers of BIN to the case but to pursue it to the end. Siregar has denied BIN had any involvement in the killing, but has said he would investigate if evidence emerged.
Rachland Nashidik is part of the Fact Finding Team.
Nashidik: We want to hear his committment that he's going to help this fact finding team and the police in concluding the case of Munir.
Snowdon: BIN has more expertise than the police in such matters, a legacy of its role as Suharto's watchdog, In addition, two of its members are considered by the fact finding team to be possible suspects.
One, Major General Muchdi Purwopranjono, was replaced as the deputy director of BIN just last week. The official reason was that it was a normal operational change of the guard.
A few weeks ago the entire board of directors of the national airline Garuda was also sacked and any connection with the investigation denied.
Major General Muchdi is also the former head of the Army Special Forces, Kopassus, a post he was removed from following an investigation into the 1998 kidnapping and torture of pro-democracy activists, 13 of whom are still missing, believed dead.
Indonesia's most prominent human rights activist, Munir had tirelessly pursued those he thought responsible for this and other abuses.
For his efforts, he had been threatened and attacked but in September on a Garuda flight to Amsterdam where he was to undertake university studies he was finally silenced. An autopsy by Dutch authorities found he was poisoned with arsenic.
Rachland Nashidik, who replaced Munir as Director of the organisation he founded, Imparsial, says the police investigation has just started to touch on the most important aspect – those who ordered Munir's death.
Nashidik: Its a long way to go actually, still a long way to go.
Snowdon: So you're meeting with the head of the Intelligence Service to secure his committment to fully pursue this case?
Nashidik: Yes.
Snowdon: But it could possibly lead them to investigating one of their own, and you expect cooperation?
Nashidik: Well that's one of the consequences that they have to face.
Snowdon: Munir of course was very well known but why do you believe he was a target now?
Nashidik: There were very strange things happening to him before he was murdered actually. Those facts that we have found are very convincing for us to believe that he was a target of the intelligence services.
Snowdon: What sort of things were happening to him?
Nahsidik: Well the way he was murdererd itself was very strange, right? And it is also at the same time common in intelligence operations.
Snowdon: Common in military operations did you say?
Nashidik: In military and intelligence operations.
Snowdon: The committee has reported directly to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who says he's committed to uncover the truth. Rachland Nashidik says the case is most important test of Indonesia's new democracy.
Nashidik: If we cannot solve this case if we cannot find the murderer, the people who give (the) order to kill Munir then Indonesia is not changed. It is still the same as before.
Snowdon: And was Munir's death, did it come as a shock to people that such a high profile person could be murdered in this way? And are other activists fearful that even these days, what was common in the past to some extent is still possible in Indonesia?
Nashidik: This case should be the last case in Indonesia. And whoever give order to kill Munir they want to make us scared. We are not scared, we show to the murderer they cannot walk free after this that we can, we could, we are able to investigate them using the State's powers.