The trial reviewing the case of Munir's alleged murderer, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, will also determine the fate of some BIN (State Intelligence Agency) officials. In court, two witnesses testified that officials from this spy agency played a role in the killing of Munir, an activist. And the name of Abdullah Makhmud Hendropriyono is bound to be dragged into the dispute. Hendro was, after all, chief of BIN when Munir was killed on September 7, 2004. Last Thursday, Hendro spoke openly about the case to Tempo reporter Budi Setyarso. Excerpts:
Do you know Raden Patma alias Ucok, who claims to be a BIN agent?
No, I don't. There are many BIN personnel whose original names we don't know, because they use aliases. They are usually agents with specific missions and have long been planted in a particular place, in or out of the country. If Ucok claims to be a BIN agent before I was there, that can be traced back. But if an agent is not used, he is no longer our agent.
How are agents actually recruited?
There are two kinds of agents, organic and non-organic. Lately, non-organic agents were dropped because BIN acquired modern intelligence equipment, like wiretaps. BIN no longer needs informants. Since 1986-87, intelligence operations no longer relied on personal assistance. We have been using organic agents, that is, agents recruited from the civil service, the military or the police force. There are no longer outsiders.
Does the agent working on the job know the entire operation?
No. We follow a system called compartmentalization. Let alone someone as lowly as Ucok, even I wouldn't know the entire operation. The compartmentalization system is used to prevent information leaks. If I knew everything, and I was kidnapped, all the state secrets could be squeezed out of me. If an informant, like Ucok, claiming to be an agent, says he knows the entire intelligence operation, he's surely dreaming.
Who decides which intelligence operation goes?
No big meetings determine operations.
How does BIN execute assassinations?
We are not the KGB, nor the CIA, which do such things. As far as I know, we have never executed assassinations.
Ucok claimed to have received orders from a BIN official to kill Munir.
I see a lot of bias going into this case. There are too many BIN people being charged, and those accusations are groundless. For instance, Ucok claimed a BIN official ordered him to go to Ki Gendeng Pamungkas, a paranormal, to weave a spell. That's not the way BIN operates.
Ucok mentioned that many BIN officialsb
Much that Ucok said is irrelevant. For instance, he cited Wahyu Saronto, who used to be the Deputy IV for Counter-Intelligence. His duty and his responsibilities are nowhere near that area. Institutionally, Manunggal Maladi, the Deputy II, could be linked, since he is in charge of domestic research. But that would need an order from me. He is unlikely to move on his own. Manunggal also never believed in weaving spells. Real intelligence operations are unlikely to resort to such deviations as the supernatural. BIN now uses modern technology.
Can BIN involve other agencies, like a state-owned company, to execute its operations?
As long as I worked at BIN, nothing like that has ever happened. When I was at Bais (Strategic Intelligence Agency), there were such collaborations. In fact, some of our people were planted in the different [government] departments. But that was because we had to have a PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) cleansing. But after that, no more.
Garuda's former CEO, Indra Setiawan, claimed to have received a letter from BIN's deputy chief to place Pollycarpus in his security section.
In intelligence operations, there is almost never any paperwork. Moreover, it would be unlikely for a BIN deputy chief to sign off on a letter when I was there. Such an important letter is also unlikely to be carried by another person. That doesn't make sense. We follow organizational discipline. In fact, BIN members are forbidden to talk with each other about their tasks outside of their work. We are only allowed to greet them and to ask about their health. If anyone asks questions, he is bound to be reported to his superiors.
Do you feel you are being suspected in the Munir case? They will clearly point in my direction. Why? Because the conclusions have been predetermined, confusing the data.
But there seem to be indications of BIN involvement, like the telephone calls between a BIN official and Pollycarpus.
Well, I don't know about that. But there are sick people who love to pretend they're from intelligence. And they brag a lot. They are Melayu (a reference to something local or domesticbintelligence people.