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Allah Kanina! When will this country get out of its ever perpetual retard mode?
Was he involved in the bombing of SilkAir 185?
January 1, 2009
Indonesia Official Acquitted in Killing
By PETER GELLING
An Indonesian court cleared a former deputy intelligence chief of any wrongdoing in connection with the murder of Indonesia’s most celebrated human rights campaigner Wednesday, a decision that will likely bring renewed attention to the country’s dubious justice system as well as its poor human rights record.
Hundreds of Indonesians took to the streets after the court announced its decision to free the intelligence officer, Muchdi Purwoprandjono, who is also a former Indonesian Army major general. The demonstrators called on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to follow through with a promise he made to bring to justice those responsible for the high-profile murder of the campaigner, Munir Said Thalib, in 2004.
Mr. Munir was poisoned with arsenic while traveling to the Netherlands on a commercial flight aboard state-carrier Garuda in 2004. Earlier this year, an off-duty Garuda pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who jockeyed to sit next to Mr. Munir during the flight, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder.
Analysts, however, have long suspected that Indonesia’s intelligence agency ordered the killing. Phone records discovered during the initial investigation showed that Mr. Pollycarpus had telephoned General Muchdi dozens of times leading up to the murder.
The case has been considered by the international community as a test of how successful Indonesia has been in instituting reforms since the fall of Suharto, the country’s former authoritarian ruler, in 1998.
Domestically, the case has also served as a challenge for Mr. Yudhoyono, who swept into office during Indonesia’s first direct elections on promises to clean up a corrupt government and military. Mr. Yudhoyono, also a former general, is up for re-election next year.
General Muchdi would have been the first high-level military or intelligence official to go to jail for serious human rights abuses. But human rights activists said the case is now another example of the culture of impunity enjoyed by military personnel.
Analysts said they had concerns about the trial’s procedures. Several witnesses contradicted their original statements, tried to withdraw statements altogether, or just simply failed to appear in court, seriously hampering prosecutors.
“If Indonesia is to move beyond its authoritarian past, the justice system must show that generals are not above the law,“ said Matt Easton, an analyst with Human Rights Watch. “Investigators, prosecutors, and the courts must be ready to go where the evidence and the law lead them.”
News agencies reported that Mr. Munir’s widow, Suciwati, was visibly distressed after the verdict Wednesday, saying, “This is a painful thing.” She has campaigned vigorously to have the officials responsible for ordering the murder jailed. She accused at least one of the judges responsible of being corrupt and said he lacked credibility, noting that several high-profile corruption suspects have gone free after his rulings, including Tommy Suharto, son of the late president, who was accused of embezzling millions.
“I have not only lost a husband,” she told reporters after the verdict. “But also an understanding of justice.”
Was he involved in the bombing of SilkAir 185?
January 1, 2009
Indonesia Official Acquitted in Killing
By PETER GELLING
An Indonesian court cleared a former deputy intelligence chief of any wrongdoing in connection with the murder of Indonesia’s most celebrated human rights campaigner Wednesday, a decision that will likely bring renewed attention to the country’s dubious justice system as well as its poor human rights record.
Hundreds of Indonesians took to the streets after the court announced its decision to free the intelligence officer, Muchdi Purwoprandjono, who is also a former Indonesian Army major general. The demonstrators called on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to follow through with a promise he made to bring to justice those responsible for the high-profile murder of the campaigner, Munir Said Thalib, in 2004.
Mr. Munir was poisoned with arsenic while traveling to the Netherlands on a commercial flight aboard state-carrier Garuda in 2004. Earlier this year, an off-duty Garuda pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who jockeyed to sit next to Mr. Munir during the flight, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder.
Analysts, however, have long suspected that Indonesia’s intelligence agency ordered the killing. Phone records discovered during the initial investigation showed that Mr. Pollycarpus had telephoned General Muchdi dozens of times leading up to the murder.
The case has been considered by the international community as a test of how successful Indonesia has been in instituting reforms since the fall of Suharto, the country’s former authoritarian ruler, in 1998.
Domestically, the case has also served as a challenge for Mr. Yudhoyono, who swept into office during Indonesia’s first direct elections on promises to clean up a corrupt government and military. Mr. Yudhoyono, also a former general, is up for re-election next year.
General Muchdi would have been the first high-level military or intelligence official to go to jail for serious human rights abuses. But human rights activists said the case is now another example of the culture of impunity enjoyed by military personnel.
Analysts said they had concerns about the trial’s procedures. Several witnesses contradicted their original statements, tried to withdraw statements altogether, or just simply failed to appear in court, seriously hampering prosecutors.
“If Indonesia is to move beyond its authoritarian past, the justice system must show that generals are not above the law,“ said Matt Easton, an analyst with Human Rights Watch. “Investigators, prosecutors, and the courts must be ready to go where the evidence and the law lead them.”
News agencies reported that Mr. Munir’s widow, Suciwati, was visibly distressed after the verdict Wednesday, saying, “This is a painful thing.” She has campaigned vigorously to have the officials responsible for ordering the murder jailed. She accused at least one of the judges responsible of being corrupt and said he lacked credibility, noting that several high-profile corruption suspects have gone free after his rulings, including Tommy Suharto, son of the late president, who was accused of embezzling millions.
“I have not only lost a husband,” she told reporters after the verdict. “But also an understanding of justice.”
