Jakarta – Although calls to get to the bottom of the murder of human rights activist Munir have come from the very top, the National Police say no one should be getting their hopes up.
"We want the case resolved too, we're not protecting anyone," said National Police chief Gen. Sutanto on Thursday.
He declined to confirm whether he was pessimistic about the ongoing investigation, but did say "we face a number of difficulties in gathering evidence that can stand up in court."
Sutanto was responding to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's statement Monday at the Indonesian Embassy in Helsinki that police were "revitalizing" the investigation team. While Susilo was in Finland's capital to attend the Asia-Europe meeting, the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, had asked him Sunday how the investigation of Munir's murder was progressing. Susilo had assured Barroso that the probe continued.
A vocal critic of the military, Munir, 38, was found dead aboard a Garuda aircraft on Sept. 7, 2004, on his way to Amsterdam to pursue postgraduate studies. An autopsy showed that arsenic killed him. A court found off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto guilty of putting the arsenic in Munir's drink and sentenced him to 14 years' jail.
The court confirmed the conclusion of a government-established fact-finding team that Pollycarpus had frequent telephone contact with a former deputy of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), but both denied the communication.
"Pollycarpus did not reveal the identity of anyone else directly related to the murder," Sutanto said, citing what he said was one difficulty in further investigating the case. Another is the fact the crime was committed onboard an aircraft in flight, he said.
Sutanto said he would "reinforce" the investigation team, defining this as "involving any party that intends to help", but declined to elaborate.
He said the original members of the team, headed by detective Brig. Gen. Marsudi Hanafi, would not be replaced to ensure continuity.
Munir's widow, Suciwati, and fellow activists have been campaigning for further investigation into the "masterminds" of his death, and for a new independent team to be formed with the authority to question all necessary parties, including officials and former officials of the intelligence agency.
The previous team failed to summon and question former BIN chief AM Hendropriyono, who has maintained his innocence, as well as that of the agency and its officials.
Sutanto said the current BIN chief Syamsir Siregar "has been very helpful".
The Central Jakarta District Court stated on Dec. 20 there were "other parties" involved in Munir's murder. But shedding any more light on the case was up to investigators, the presiding judge said.
The court also concluded that Munir's criticism of the government, military and intelligence agencies motivated his murder.