Faisal Maliki Baskoro – Thousands of people gathered on Sunday in front of the grave of Munir Said Thalib, a prominent human rights champion who was killed eight years ago but whose murder case remains unsolved.
"Ya Allah, please make the killers of Papa Munir confess what they have done," said Sultan Alief Allende, Munir's son, before the gathering to commemorate the birthday of the activist in Batu, Malang, East Java.
Munir was born in the city on Dec. 8, 1965, but his birthday commemoration began on Saturday. Munir was killed on board a Garuda Indonesia flight from Singapore to Amsterdam in 2004 after drinking a beverage that was spiked with arsenic.
Off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto was convicted of Munir's murder in 2005. The conviction was invalidated in 2006 for insufficient evidence, before being reinstated in 2008.
To date, however, none of the suspected masterminds behind the murder have been jailed, with Muchdi Purwopranjono, the former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief, acquitted of murder charges.
Munir's wife Suciwati said she would continue to campaign for information on her husband's death. She has launched a petition at www.change.org/melawanlupa to remind people that Munir's murder still has not been solved.
She called on Indonesians to sign the digital petition, which will be sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
"This petition will target SBY to quickly do his homework of solving Munir's case. As the president has said that Munir's case is a test of our history," Suciwati said, referring to Yudhoyono.
Attending the event were National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) chairman Otto Nur Abdullah, Jesuit priest Romo Sindhunata, artist Ki Djoko Pekik, writer Arswendo Atmowiloto, Javanese puppeteer Sujiwo Tedjo, University of Indonesia professor Tamrin Amal Tamagola, leading poet Goenawan Mohamad, rights activist Emmy Hafidz and Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Otto said that Komnas HAM will support Lukman's recent proposal to formally recognize Munir as a national hero. Batu Mayor Eddy Rumpoko also attended the gathering and signed the petition.
Human rights activist Hendardi praised Eddy's support for Munir as an extraordinary and historic step, saying that it showed that the city was proud of its son. Eddy said in his speech that Munir was an inspiration not only to Batu but to the whole country, saying that Indonesia is proud of him.
Meanwhile, poet Goenawan also launched a campaign in remembrance of Munir's death. He also launched a petition at www.change.org/monumenMunir that called for the building of monument for the human rights champion.
In his speech, he said that Munir even deserved to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
Munir was one of Indonesia's most famous human rights and anti-corruption activists. He co-founded the country's most prominent human rights group, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), as well as anti-graft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch.
Munir started his work in legal aid in 1989 at Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) Surabaya before being appointed secretary of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in 1996.
His last position was executive director of Imparsial, an Indonesian human rights nongovernmental organization.