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Laksamana.Net
February 3, 2005
Cover-Up in Munir Murder Case?
Almost five months after the murder of acclaimed human rights campaigner Munir, police are yet to come up with a single suspect, increasing concerns of a high-level cover-up.
The dire lack of progress has also provoked scathing criticism of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who in November had pledged to do everything in his power to uncover the mystery behind the activist's death. He had even personally promised Munir's widow Suciwati that he would fully support the formation of an independent team to investigate the case.
But Yudhoyono broke his promise, permitting only the formation of a fact-finding team - chaired by Police Brigadier General Marsudi Hanafi - to "assist" police with their investigation.
The 13-member team was formed on December 22 and given only three months in which to complete its inquiries.
Although the team contains several human rights activists, its members also include representatives of the police, the government and the Attorney General's Office. Hardly the stuff of independence.
Munir, founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial), died of arsenic poisoning while on a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam on September 7.
Rights groups are certain he was murdered by his powerful enemies, possibly by those who wanted to silence his most recent investigations into corruption cases involving prominent government figures.
Police have questioned scores of witnesses but are adamant they still don't have any suspects.
Garuda Pilot
Rights activists grouped in the Committee of Solidarity Action for Munir (Komite Aksi Solidaritas Untuk Munir - KASUM) on Wednesday (2/2/05) urged the fact-finding team to put pressure on police to investigate whether a Garuda pilot seen with Munir on the final day of his life was working covertly for a state intelligence agency.
The pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, allegedly telephoned Munir's house two or three days before the activist left for the Netherlands and told Suciwati he would be on the same flight as her husband.
He has denied calling Munir's house and insisted he was not involved in his death.
But it has been established that Pollycarpus introduced himself to Munir and Suciwati when they arrived at Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta International Airport on the night of September 6.
Munir was carrying an economy class ticket when he boarded Flight GA-974 from Jakarta to Amsterdam, but Pollycarpus persuaded him to take his business class seat. The pilot then took a seat in first class.
During the Singapore-Jakarta leg of the flight, Munir ordered and consumed noodles and orange juice, while Pollycarpus was seen pacing nervously between the bar in first class and the cockpit.
When the plane arrived at Singapore's Changi Airport at 11.40pm Jakarta time, Munir went to the waiting room, while Pollycarpus left the airport.
At 12.50am Munir re-boarded the aircraft and this time sat in his economy seat. Within a few hours he was in agonizing pain and suffering severe nausea and diarrhea. He died at least three hours before the plane landed in Amsterdam.
Dutch authorities subsequently conducted an autopsy that revealed 465 milligrams of undigested arsenic in Munir's stomach - more than double the normally lethal dose of 200 milligrams.
The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) swiftly denied murdering Munir. On November 20, a decapitated and dismembered chicken was sent to Suciwati, along with a note warning: "Be careful!!!!! Do not connect TNI to the death of Munir. Do you want to end up like this?"
After police showed virtually no progress in their initial investigation. Munir's fellow human rights began their own investigation. They discovered that Pollycarpus had piloted flights - ostensibly for Christian missionaries - in Irian Jaya (now Papua) province over 1985-87 when the military was attacking separatist rebels in the territory.
Pollycarpus later flew planes to evacuate Indonesians from East Timor in 1999 after TNI and its militia proxies had unleashed carnage in there in response to the territory's vote to secede from Indonesia. East Timor's notorious former militia leader Eurico Guterres has admitted to knowing the pilot.
KASUM and the rights activists in the fact-finding team suspect Pollycarpus is no ordinary pilot. They have received anonymous tip-offs via mobile phone text messages alleging that he is a member of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and has an unlicensed gun from the agency. The pilot has strongly denied having links to any military intelligence institutions.
The activists have not publicly referred to Pollycarpus by name, but only by his initials PC.
KASUM now wants police to ask BIN chief Sjamsir Siregar in writing whether PC is one of the agency's members. The group also wants to know whether BIN issued him a gun license.
Rafendi Djamin, coordinator of the Human Rights Working Group, concedes that rumors and anonymous text messages can't be considered material evidence. But he feels police could use the informal information as a basis for further investigation, especially given that the truth is not always clear in Indonesia.
He lamented that Indonesia has no mechanism for the protection of witnesses and a political system that cannot prevent violent action.
Djamin said it appeared the public and the media were more serious than the police were about unmasking Munir's killers.
"After almost five months the case of Munir's murder is not clear yet. Furthermore, the police still haven't even found a suspect yet. Apparently the police are quite clumsy and unprofessional in solving this case," he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
"From this phenomenon it could be seen that the media and the public are more serious than the police in solving Munir's case," he added.
Djamin said the fact-finding team was facing various obstacles and it appeared the case had been manipulated for short-term political gains.
"Actually it's vital to have an open and transparent [investigation] process. What's more, this team is restricted by a time limit of only three months. But the condition that we really regret is that Munir's case has simply been made into a piece of political merchandise. This began to be felt when everyone criticized the first 100 days of the SBY-Kalla government," he said.
Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla had promised to make major achievements in their first 100 days in office, particularly by cracking down on corruption and crime. But the government has since failed to transform many of its lofty words into actions and had to scale back some of its promises.
It remains to be seen whether the retired general and tycoon will make it a priority to unmask Munir's killers.
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Laksamana.Net
February 11, 2005
Reconstruction of Munir's Murder Sought
A government-backed team investigating the fatal poisoning of human rights campaigner Munir has urged police to stage a re-enactment of the final hours of the activist's life.
Team member Usman Hamid on Friday (11/2/05) said a reconstruction based on statements from witnesses must be carried out by next week, once airport security tapes and aircraft recordings have been accessed.
Munir, founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial), died of arsenic poisoning while on a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam on September 7.
Rights groups are certain he was murdered by his powerful enemies, possibly by those who wanted to silence his most recent investigations into corruption cases involving prominent government figures.
Police have publicly stated they don't have any suspects, but local media reports have pointed to a Garuda pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who has alleged links to military intelligence and was seen talking to Munir before they both boarded Flight GA-974.
Once on board the plane, Pollycarpus convinced Munir to change his economy class seat for a business class seat. Reports have speculated the activist might have been poisoned when he ate a meal of noodles on the Jakarta-Singapore leg of the flight. Pollycarpus left the plane when it arrived at Singapore's Changi Airport. Munir died an agonizing death at least three hours before the plane reached Amsterdam. A Dutch autopsy subsequently revealed 465 milligrams of undigested arsenic in Munir's stomach - more than double the normally lethal dose of 200 milligrams.
Pollycarpus has admitted to meeting with Munir at the airport and talking to him on the flight. But he strongly denies any involvement in the poisoning and any links to state intelligence agencies.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in an interview in the February 1 edition of Tempo magazine, said investigations by the police and Attorney General's Office had "led to two suspects". He did not name the suspects.
Usman expressed concern that police were stalling a re-enactment of the murder on the pretext that Garuda was yet to provide an aircraft and the crew from Munir's flight.
"We have asked for the reconstruction to be conducted no later than the third week [of February]. National Police investigating officers have said the reconstruction depends on the Garuda team preparing an aircraft and crew. But we have asked the National Police investigating officers to take the decisive role, not the Garuda team," he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
He said the reconstruction cannot be conducted if police are interminably waiting for cooperation from Garuda.
Usman said the reconstruction should start from when Munir arrived at Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta International Airport on the night of September 6 and cover all his movements until his death the following day.
The "independent" government-sanctioned fact-finding team was formed by virtue of a presidential decree on December 22 in an effort to assuage public concerns of a cover-up. But some groups have questioned the team's independence, as its members include representatives of the police, the government and the Attorney General's Office.
'Poor Airport Security'
Usman, who is the coordinator of Kontras, on Friday afternoon met with officials from state-owned airport management firm PT Angkasa Pura to request access to closed circuit television tapes (CCTV) and any other recordings from the time when Munir was at the airport and on the plane.
Angkasa Pura corporate secretary Teguh Suwarso declined to reveal details of the meeting, saying he did not have authority to comment on the matter.
But he did say Angkasa Pura could not provide access to cockpit recordings or other data recorded from Flight GA-974, as the company only has recordings of conversations between flight controllers and pilots.
"Angkasa Pura's authority covers airport management and flight safety. But as for recordings of private communication between passengers, Angkasa Pura does not have them," he was quoted as saying by detikcom. He did not mention whether the company had any CCTV footage of Munir at the airport.
Usman later told reporters that Angkasa Pura had informed him the airport's security cameras failed to capture any footage of Munir on September 6 because the CCTV system does not cover all areas at all times.
"They explained that on that day there was no footage recorded of the deceased because the CCTV security system at the airport uses a random system," he said.
He criticized the system as "unprofessional", saying an international airport should be equipped with the best security devices possible, especially in the wake of a bomb blast there on April 27, 2003.
The bomb blast, blamed on the separatist Free Aceh Movement, injured 11 people. After the attack, Angkasa Pura promised to increase the airport's security system. "So why is their security system so very weak?" asked Usman.
He said CCTV should be used to constantly film all areas open to passengers. "But they gave the excuse that their facilities are very limited and conventional. Furthermore, their recording system still uses a VHS tape and is done in a random manner," he added.
Sweet Suspicion
The death of Munir has raised concerns that other prominent figures could be poisoned. Even the president is reportedly afraid of being poisoned.
The Jakarta Post reported Tuesday that Yudhoyono had sent a sample of the sugar used in his tea to the National Police forensics laboratory after deciding the beverage tasted odd.
National Police chief General Dai Bachtiar said tests showed the sugar did not contain any arsenic or other poisons.
United Nations
Veteran Indonesian diplomat Makarim Wibisono, who was recently appointed chairman of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), on Friday expressed hope the investigation into Munir's death would be carried out seriously and transparently.
He also defended the slow pace of the police investigation, which critics say has made scant progress in the five months since Munir was murdered.
"From my point of view, measures are being taken to investigate the Munir case and there is a commission of investigation. Hopefully the investigation will be carried out seriously and once it is finished the results will be transparently announced to the public," he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
Speaking in Jakarta at a discussion hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), he said it was understandable that the investigation was taking a long time.
"To prosecute someone requires proof, because our law requires evidence, which takes time, indications and research. Time is essential to prove whether A or B is a killer. The commission must be given an opportunity to uncover the truth," he added.
Wibisono said the UNCHR had been in contact with Indonesian government team and several institutions to ask about developments in the investigation.
'Improved Image'
Wibisono told the discussion that although some circles feel Indonesia has a poor record in upholding human rights, the nation's image has improved in the eyes of the international community because of last year's successful democratic elections.
"If they thought Indonesia has a bad record on human rights and believed Indonesia cannot bring changes to the UN Commission on Human Rights, they would not have chosen Makarim Wibisono from Indonesia," he said.
Commenting on Indonesia's unresolved cases of human rights abuses from the past, he said it was natural that a country undergoing transition had inherited "remnants" of violations from the previous regime.
"There is not a single country in the world that does not have cases of human rights violations. What's important is having a process of law for each violation that has happened. It will be a problem if there is a case that has no resolution, no end. If a case could not be resolved according to the national law, then this case could be brought to the international level," he added.
Amnesty International has expressed hope the appointment of Wibisono as chairman of the UNCHR will encourage Jakarta to improve its record on the promotion and protection of human rights.
Indonesia has long been criticized for its appalling human rights record, especially in the rebellious provinces of Aceh and Papua, as well as in the former province of East Timor prior to its 1999 secession.
Authorities in Jakarta have always played down the criticism, claiming that state security forces are obliged to take harsh action against alleged separatists to protect national unity and integrity.
In a memorandum issued last month, Amnesty pointed out that Indonesia is yet to ratify certain UN human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The London-based human rights organization acknowledged that Indonesia had already ratified many other human rights covenants, but said the country had "fallen behind" in its reporting obligations under the treaties. "The reports that have been submitted by Indonesia in the past have failed to provide the full information required to satisfy the treaty bodies' reporting guidelines," said the memorandum.
Citing an example, it said Indonesia's first periodic report under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, made almost no reference to many cases of torture and rape that had been reported by NGOs and other groups.
It said the report also failed to address obstacles to the implementation of the convention, plans for legal and institutional reform, the need for more effective training of law enforcement and judicial officers, and the need for compensation for victims.
Amnesty also criticized Indonesia's special human rights court, which was formed in 2001 to deflect international criticism after the Indonesian military and its militia proxies unleashed carnage in East Timor in the period surrounding the territory's 1999 vote to secede from Indonesia. The campaign of terror killed more than 1,400 people, displaced three-quarters of the population and destroyed more than 75% of East Timor's infrastructure.
Indonesia's human rights court convicted six of only 18 people tried, but higher courts later overturned five of the convictions. Former militia leader Eurico Guterres, the only person still convicted, remains free pending a lengthy appeal process.
Amnesty said the trials "have not succeeded in delivering justice to the victims and their families". It said the trials were marred by several shortcomings, including: the limited territorial and temporal jurisdiction of the court; the decision of the Attorney General's Office to investigate only five out of the many hundreds of cases of reported human rights violations; the decision to prosecute only 18 out of potentially hundreds of suspects; and the
weakness of the cases presented by the prosecution, including their failure to present before the court well-attested evidence.
The memorandum urged Indonesia to comply with UN resolutions calling for those responsible for gross human rights violations in East Timor to be brought to justice. It also urged the government to cooperate fully with judicial proceedings being conducted in East Timor, including by entering into extradition and mutual legal assistance agreements.
Indonesia has flatly refused to extradite any of its citizens wanted in East Timor for war crimes.
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The Jakarta Post
Friday, February 11, 2005
RI to ratify international bill on human rights
By Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta
The Indonesian government is expected soon to ratify the international bill on human rights, a move that could improve the country's image in the global community.
United Nations Human Rights Commission head Makarim Wibisono said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed to sign the bill, which consists of two covenants: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
"The President said that Indonesia is committed to the development and protection of human rights. Therefore, he will sign the international bill on human rights," Makarim said after a meeting with Susilo.
Makarim is a senior Indonesian diplomat who was elected to the new post at the UN in January.
He said the ratification of the bill would have "huge international political meaning" by demonstrating Indonesia's commitment to developing and protecting human rights.
"Indonesia's contribution to human rights development and protection will be stronger with a political gesture from the government involving the issue," he said.
The President has instructed Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin to make preparations for the signing of the bill so it will not take long time to ratify, Makarim said.
The two covenants were established in 1966 and came into force some 10 years later. According to the United Nations website, as of mid-2004 there were 149 parties who had ratified the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, and 152 parties who had ratified the international covenant on civil and political rights.
Human rights activists have urged the government to sign and ratify the covenants to ensure the economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of the people in the country.
Makarim said one of his goals as the head of the United Nations Human Rights Commission was to ensure the commission was not used to politicize human rights cases.
"Instead of humiliating certain countries and forcing them into a corner, it would be better to fix the (rights) problems," he said.
Asked whether he was referring to rights violations in East Timor, Makarim replied: "It's not only about East Timor, but other countries have experienced this as well."
"The most important thing is that there must be a remedy for any rights violations, whether they occurred in the past or now. If the remedy is accepted by the parties involved and meets international standards, then the international world will accept it as well," he said.
Only one of 18 defendants accused of gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999 was found guilty by a human rights tribunal here, much to the anger of international critics.
The violations occurred before and after a United Nations-supervised poll in August 1999, in which the East Timorese voted to break away from Indonesia. More than 1,000 people are believed to have died in the violence.
Susilo and his East Timorese counterpart Xanana Gusmao have agreed to form a Reconciliation and Friendship Commission to deal with the violations.
However, the United Nations has proposed the establishment of a Commission of Experts to assess why a 1999 UN Security Council resolution to try those accused of crimes in East Timor failed. Susilo has phoned United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to convey his opposition to the proposal.
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The Jakarta Post
Saturday, February 12, 2005
RI promotes rights within and without
Indonesian diplomat Makarim Wibisono has been appointed as the new chairman of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. He will lead the 61st session of the commission in March in Geneva. The Jakarta Post's Adianto P. Simamora spoke with Makarim to learn more about his views about the commission. The following are excerpts from the interview.
Question: What is the strategic value of Indonesia chairing the commission?
Answer: Since it became a member of the UN Human Rights Commission in 1991 Indonesia has often been questioned about its human rights record. But relations have changed. We are no longer a target country. Indonesia will become a leader in managing the commission and also providing it with a vision. This reflects the new trust in Indonesia from the international community that is also related to the democratic processes in this country.
Human rights issues have changed much since the establishment (of the commission) in 1946. In the past, human rights issues were solved in a spirit of cooperation to achieve the promotion and protection of human rights, but in later years these issues were often used by certain countries to defend their own interests and shame other nations.
This politicization has made discussions about human rights into wars of words. We can't discuss these issues quietly or civilly any more.
I want to return the commission to focusing on its main substantive goal and I see several ways we can achieve this, namely;
Firstly, through the efforts of the people who sit on the high commission for human rights.
Secondly, by improving the role played by the commission.
Thirdly, by working to create an advisory council to alter the role of the sub-commission on the promotion and protection of human rights.
There are many ideas about how to improve the commission in the future. This is a golden opportunity for us. The world's situation has changed, and that is why the Human Rights Commission must also change to advance and uphold human rights rather than politicize them. Given that Indonesia's human rights record is still poor, will this be a burden in your new job?
Our leadership of the commission is a two-fold opportunity.
On one hand, we can use this momentum to boost awareness and understanding of human rights issues in Indonesia so as to make more advances in the promotion and protection of human rights in our country.
At the same time, we can show the international community that Indonesia is engaged in a process toward a full democracy. If we show human rights abuses as residual cases, we can show that while Indonesia might not have been perfect in the past, it is now in a transitional period and in the future will progress from good to perfect.
We need to explain this perspective (to the international community) because in my understanding there is a positive correlation between a country's democratic processes and its human rights record.
There are calls from several UN members to eliminate the monitoring mechanism of the commission.
There are three main functions of the commission: The promotion, monitoring and the capacity building of member countries. So if we want to bring the commission function back to its core we should support these three points without shaming certain countries.
In my opinion, the monitoring mechanism cannot be separated from the commission's duties. These above three functions must be advanced together.
What about the counter-terrorism measures taken by several countries, aren't these against human rights?
There are two sides to this argument. Terrorism that kills people without discrimination is clearly against human rights; we need to understand this so we can support actions against it.
At the same time, there is also a tendency to use issues of counter-terrorism as pretexts to justify efforts to limit the rights of people, such as by limiting privacy rights.
If we talk about terrorism and human rights, we must have a clear vision of what we will support and what we have to avoid. We support efforts to avoid the taking of more innocent lives. But we must avoid overreacting in the name of counter-terrorism.
Question: What is your opinion about the "critical country resolution" under Item 9? Some have proposed that it be eliminated?
Answer: When the commission was established in 1946, there was no Item 9 yet. So in the past it was all about standards setting.
Item 9 is related to the discussion of human rights violations in certain countries, but recently the discussions of this item took hours or even days to only discuss the so-called country-specific resolutions.
Under the item, if we talk about the human rights violations such as torture, we will see the same violations not only in one country but in many countries. So it became about thematic talks.
But in its development, the discussions on Item 9 became politicized. Some members want the commission to focus more on the problems of civil and political rights, or economic and cultural rights.
But the industrialized countries group said the agenda was important for their countries so they were against efforts to eliminate the item.
Meanwhile, the developing countries -- in Africa, Asia and Latin America -- have urged Item 9 to be eliminated or changed.
[Comment: Whoever is in the chair at its forthcoming session, the UN Human Rights Commisision should consider the rights abuses currently taking place in Aceh and West Papua. TAPOL]
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The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Police hit snag in probing Munir's death
By Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta
The National Police are facing difficulties in the investigation of the death of top human rights activist Munir, particularly due to resistance from the Netherlands government to allow the Indonesian police to investigate in that country.
Director of Transnational Security Brig. Gen. Pranowo Dahlan told reporters on Monday that the Netherlands wanted a mutual legal assistance agreement signed between the two countries before Indonesian investigators could do any investigative work there.
"With such an agreement, our investigation there could be declared legal and valid," Pranowo said on the sidelines of a hearing between the National Police and House of Representatives Commission III on human rights and security.
Munir, who often criticized the human rights record of local security personnel, died of arsenic poisoning on board a Garuda flight to Amsterdam from Jakarta on Sept. 7, 2004.
Due to the absence of an agreement, the police have not been able to collect the remains of Munir or documents related to the case. An autopsy was conducted on Munir's body by Dutch doctors in the Netherlands.
Pranowo said the police were focusing the investigation on three people who were on the same flight as Munir. They are an off-duty Garuda pilot named Policarpus, Indonesian passenger Emilie Lie Swan Gie and an Indonesia-born Dutch Citizen identified as Lie. None of the three has been named a suspect.
Both Emilie and Lie sat near Munir on the flight, while Policarpus moved Munir from economy class to business class on the plane.
According to the police report, Emilie Lie Swan has agreed to be questioned, but the police have yet to question Lie, a Dutch citizen, due to the absence of a mutual legal assistance agreement between the two countries.
Therefore, in order to solve the case, Pranowo said an agreement was urgently needed.
"We plan to send investigators to the Netherlands but we're waiting for the go ahead from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Pranowo said.
Elsewhere, Pranowo said the police wanted to reconstruct Munir's death this week, but had to wait for Garuda to provide a plane on which to do the work. Most Garuda airplanes are currently being used to transport haj pilgrims.
"This will be only a preliminary reconstruction since we have no suspects yet. We hope we can do it this week," Pranowo said.
Reconstruction of Munir's death will start from the moment he entered Soekarno-Hatta International Airport until his transit in Singapore's Changi International Airport. Ii is believed that Munir ingested arsenic on the short trip to Singapore.
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Laksamana.Net
February 15, 2005
Police Certain Munir Poisoned During Flight
More than five months after outspoken human rights campaigner Munir died while on a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam, police have concluded he was poisoned by one his fellow passengers and are now focusing their inquiries on the background of an off-duty Garuda Indonesia pilot.
National Police criminal investigation chief Suyitno Landung said Tuesday (15/2/05) investigators were convinced a person traveling with Munir on Flight GA-974 slipped him a lethal dose of arsenic during the first stage of the September 6-7 flight.
He said there were three possible times that Munir could have ingested the poison: first, while on the Jakarta-Singapore leg of the flight; second, while in transit at Singapore’s Changi International Airport; and third, moments after the aircraft took off from Singapore for Amsterdam.
The off-duty Garuda pilot now under investigation, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, left the plane when it arrived at Changi at 11.40pm Jakarta time and did not rejoin the flight. He has not yet been declared a suspect and has strongly denied any involvement in the activist’s death.
"Already there is now a tendency toward a suspect, but we cannot be certain solely on the basis of our assumptions. The key thing is, it was impossible that it [the poisoning] was perpetrated by a person who was not on the flight,” Landung was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
Munir, founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial), suffered an agonizing death from acute arsenic poisoning at least three hours before the plane arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
Rights groups are certain he was murdered by his powerful enemies, possibly by those who wanted to silence his most recent investigations into corruption cases involving prominent government figures.
Although police are yet to name any suspects, local media reports have pointed to Pollycarpus, who has alleged links to military intelligence and was seen talking to Munir before they both boarded Flight GA-974. The pilot denies any intelligence links but has admitted to chatting with Munir.
Once on board the plane, Pollycarpus convinced Munir to change his economy class seat for a business class seat. During the Jakarta-Singapore leg of the journey, Munir was seen consuming the in-flight meal of noodles, fruit and orange juice. At that time witnesses saw Pollycarpus nervously pacing between the first class seating area and the cockpit.
A Dutch autopsy revealed 465 milligrams of undigested arsenic in Munir's stomach – more than double the normally lethal dose of 200 milligrams.
Landung said that according to statements from witnesses, Munir did not eat anything during the Singapore-Amsterdam leg of the flight, although it was unclear whether he consumed any food or beverages while in the waiting room at Changi or while reboarding the aircraft.
He said that in addition to Pollycarpus, police were also seeking to investigate two other passengers from Munir’s flight: Indonesian citizen Emilie Lie Swan Gie and an Indonesian-born Dutch citizen identified as Lie. The two, who live in the Netherlands, were sitting near Munir on the plane.
Gie has reportedly agreed to be questioned, but police are yet to question Lie due to the absence of a mutual legal assistance agreement between Indonesia and the Netherlands.
Landung said police have so far questioned 93 witnesses, including several who saw Pollycarpus give his seat to Munir.
National Police chief General Dai Bachtiar, facing questions on Monday from parliament’s Commission III on legal affairs, said officers were investigating the background, education and daily activities of Pollycarpus.
Munir’s colleagues have said Pollycarpus is no ordinary pilot but may be a covert intelligence operative. Their investigations have revealed that he piloted flights – ostensibly for Christian missionaries – in Irian Jaya (now Papua) province over 1985-87 when the military was attacking separatist rebels in the territory.
Pollycarpus later flew planes to evacuate Indonesians from East Timor in 1999 after the military and its militia proxies unleashed carnage there in response to the territory’s vote to secede from Indonesia. East Timor’s notorious former militia leader Eurico Guterres, who has close links to senior generals, has admitted to knowing the pilot.
Bachtiar said another Garuda employee, identified as R.A., had stated that Pollycarpus worked as an aviation security officer although he lacked the requisite Garuda Aviation Training and Education (GATE) certificate.
The police chief said Gie and Lie need to be questioned because of suspicions that statements from certain witnesses in Indonesia might be false.
He said police are awaiting notification from the Indonesian Embassy in the Netherlands on whether Gie and Lie could be questioned. "After the two witnesses have been questioned, police will determine who is a suspect," he added.
Reconstruction
Police have said a reconstruction of the final hours of Munir’s life will be carried out this week at Jakarta’s Sukarno-Hatta International Airport.
Brigadier General Marsudi Hanafi, chairman of an “independent” team assisting with the police investigation into Munir’s death, said Tuesday the re-enactment should reveal whether or not there was a conspiracy involving members of the Garuda crew to poison the activist.
He said the reconstruction would take place from the time Munir entered the airport until his death, while the plane to be used would remain on the ground during the event.
Shoddy Surveillance
Hanafi said he would advise police to investigate the two operators of Sukarno-Hatta’s surveillance cameras, as their equipment had failed to capture any images of Munir at the airport.
"Just imagine, there are 600 points that must be monitored, but they are monitored by only two operators. And they only use of a random system, [filming] whatever seems important, whereas matters such as this should not be left to guesswork,” he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
He said that during a meeting last week with officials from state-owned airport management firm PT Angkasa Pura it was revealed that Sukarno-Hatta’s “outdated” surveillance system can be used on request by VVIPs (Very Very Important Persons) seeking to have their movements recorded.
“On the basis of VVIP guests being able to request [surveillance] recordings, I think there’s a significant possibility that there may also be requests to not record certain activities,” he added.
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