Arientha Primanita & Camelia Pasandaran – Seven years after the death of human rights defender Munir Said Thalib, his widow's pain has not eased.
"As his wife, the person closest to him, my sadness and longing are as limitless as time and space," Suciwati told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday from Malang, where she joined a long march to her husband's grave.
"Especially when justice has not been served," the 43-year-old mother of two added.
Suciwati never lost hope, she said, that one day her husband's case would be solved. Though former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto was convicted of poisoning Munir, many believe the murder's real mastermind has escaped justice.
Prosecutors have accused Muchdi Purwoprandjono, a former deputy director of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), of ordering the killing out of anger over Munir's criticisms of his leadership of the Army's Kopassus Special Forces unit. But Muchdi was acquitted by a Jakarta court in December 2008.
Suciwati and the activists who protested near the State Palace on Wednesday said Justice would only be served when the country has a "serious leader."
"We are looking for a brave president who can protect human rights defenders," said Choirul Anam, a member of the Committee of Action and Solidarity for Munir (Kasum).
Choirul was one of about 50 protestors – all wearing white T-shirts adorned with Munir's face and the words "the truth will never die" – who gathered in front of the National Monument's entrance on Jalan Medan Merdeka Utara.
On their protest materials was the phrase "Menolak Lupa" ("Refuse to Forget"), which also circulated among Indonesian Twitter users on Wednesday in a show of solidarity.
The activists called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to also not forget the promise he made in 2004 to solve the murder. In December 2004, Yudhoyono told Suciwati in person that he would see to it that the case would be investigated thoroughly.
"The commitment to solve the murder is gone," said Haris Azhar, coordinator for the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras), one of the 30 non-governmental organizations grouped under Kasum. The activists accused Yudhoyono of being no different than former strongman Suharto.
"Suharto actively engaged in human rights violations, while Yudhoyono passively lets human rights violations take place," said Chrisbiantoro, another member of Kontras. "These [violations] are just the same."
Chrisbiantoro pointed to alleged human rights violations occurring under Yudhoyono's administration, including the persecution of the Ahmadiyah sect, violence in Papua and instances of forcible eviction of people from their land.
He added that non-governmental organizations wanted Sept. 7 to be commemorated as Human Rights Defender Day to encourage the government to uphold justice. Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha rejected the accusations and defended Yudhoyono's human rights achievements.
"The government ensures that there are no systematic and heavy human rights violations, and this has been consistent to this day," he said at the Presidential Palace.
With regard to Munir's murder, the spokesman said the case had been thoroughly dealt with by the country's law enforcement institutions. "So it is no longer relevant for the case to be questioned again," he said.
Julian claimed similar achievement with regard to other examples of human rights violations pointed out by activists.
"They are not systematic human rights violations, rather purely criminal or personal cases," he said. "All have been [legally processed]."
Though the protest was relatively peaceful, protestors did clash with guards as they moved closer to the palace. Haris said four people were injured in the incident including human rights activist Usman Hamid.