Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is under pressure to widen investigations into the murder of human rights activist Munir Thalib. The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced airline pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto to 14 years in jail for poisoning Munir on a Garuda flight to Amsterdam in September 2004.

Presenter/Interviewer: Sen Lam

Speakers: Usman Hamid, Indonesian human rights group KONTRAS

Hamid: To find the exact motive behind the killing of Munir and of course the mastermind behind the killing. So we hope that the president, the Chief of the National Police, can take further actions.

Lam: The Indonesian police, through a statement to the media, did say that they will continue investigations, that the probe is ongoing. Do you think that's likely to uncover more material leading to more prosecutions?

Hamid: Actually we are questioning the credibility of police investigations, because last week the police gave us a statement that the police would like to stop the investigation if there is no new evidence from the court. On the other hand, the police have already stopped the investigation led by a former chief or former chairman of a fact-finding team, Brigadier General Marsudi Hannafi, so it was very confusing for us to measure the commitment of the police investigations. So we are hoping, we are demanding to the president to make sure that the police investigation will be done in a proper manner.

Lam: A committee earlier this year did issue a report to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Do you know what has become of that report and indeed whether the president has acted on it?

Hamid: Well the first conclusion that is very important from the report is the killing against Munir is a conspiracy involving general officials from Garuda Indonesian state airline and senior officials of National Intelligence Agency, and is related to the criticisms of Munir against the National Intelligence Agency. So the fact-finding team, the committee, recommended to the president to take further actions to the police investigations because the other conclusions of the fact-finding team is the police are unwilling to really take action, to really discover or uncover the death of Munir.

The fact-finding team concluded that the National Intelligence Agency has failed to co-operate with the fact-finding team to uncover the death of Munir. The fact-finding team also recommended to the president to establish a new team, a new committee or presidential committee representing the presidential authority to back up or to make sure that the police investigation is really done in a proper manner. It's in the hands of the president; it's up to the president whether the president really wants to take serious actions to enforce the law. Otherwise I think this case is a black precedent for the future of democracy in Indonesia and the future of human rights protection in Indonesia.

Lam: So what happens now though, do you think there will be more representations made to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in order that there may be an official follow-up?

Hamid: It's so confusing for us where the position of the president now is? In the beginning the president said that the death of Munir is the determining factor for us, for Indonesia and this is a test of our history. So we are hoping that the future, or the possible team or committee that might be established by the president is also involving representatives from human rights groups. So that human rights groups can also monitor to make sure directly that everything is running well, that everything is on the right track to enforce the law, to deliver justice to the victims, to the families, to the people of Indonesia.