Indonesians mark anniversary of activist's poisoning death

9/7/2007

JAKARTA : Hundreds of demonstrators remembered the poisoning death of Indonesia's most prominent human rights activist by rallying in city streets and demanding the government find and prosecute his killers.

Munir Said Thalib, who tirelessly exposed abuses carried out by the Indonesian military, died exactly three years ago Friday while flying from Jakarta to Amsterdam on the national carrier, Garuda.

An autopsy revealed he had ingested five times the lethal dose of arsenic.

"We want the government to bring the real culprits to trial," said Fajar who believes the killing took place with the help of the State Intelligence Agency, or BIN, the scene of one of Friday's demonstrations.

An off-duty pilot named Pollycarpus Priyanto was found guilty of murdering Munir, but the Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2006. New evidence submitted last month, however, indicates former intelligence agents may have been involved.

Judges are now trying to determine if the case should be reopened.

"It is impossible that my husband was killed by just one person, Pollycarpus," said Suciwati, the activist's widow. "What for and why? He had no motive. It had to have been a conspiracy, committed by a group of people."

The investigation into Munir's death is seen as a test of how much Indonesia has changed since former President Suharto's 32-year dictatorship, when state-sponsored killings were common and security officers were largely above the law.

The United States, the European Union and the United Nations have pressed Jakarta to find justice for the rights campaigner.

Hearings now under way to determine if the Supreme Court will review its decision include telephone taps in which Pollycarpus expresses relief that a document linking him to the intelligence agency "disappeared" or had "been destroyed."

He has admitted being on the plane with Munir, but denies involvement in the killing or ties to BIN.

One prosecution witnesses who claimed he saw Pollycarpus serve Munir a drink while transiting at the Singapore airport - where the poison is believed to have been administered - changed his testimony on the stand.

Rallies Friday were held in the capital Jakarta and the country's second-largest city, Surabaya. Busloads of protesters wound through the streets singing songs, waving Indonesian flags and carrying posters that said, "Justice for Munir. Justice for all."