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Editorial: The wounds are not yet healed
The timing is perfect – it’s still within this year’s commemoration of International Human Rights Day which falls on Dec
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he timing is perfect – it’s still within this year’s commemoration of International Human Rights Day which falls on Dec. 10 – for a revelation by WikiLeaks involving Indonesia.
The website detailed the alleged involvement of top Indonesian intelligence officials in the September 2004 murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib. The incident speaks well of unresolved human rights cases here.
The Sydney Morning Herald, while quoting some diplomatic cables from the US Embassy in Jakarta that were released by WikiLeaks, reported that American diplomats suspected that senior Indonesian intelligence officials had masterminded the murder.
In a cable dated April 2007 and titled “Possible high-level involvement”, officials in Jakarta stated that a high-ranking police officer had told them that “Hendropriyono is one of the prime suspects”, referring to the chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) at the time of the murder.
The leaked cables also revealed that the BIN had several times tried to kill Munir using different methods, including a car bomb, sharpshooting, witchcraft and black magic. “Several attempts failed before Munir was killed by poison en route to Amsterdam in September 2004,” the cables stated.
It is true that in essence the revelations by WikiLeaks are not new as they have been substantially reported by the media during the subsequent investigation by the police and the court proceedings of the murder trial. So what is the point of bringing back the issue to the surface?
Hendropriyono was once questioned by the police but has never been charged. The most senior BIN figure charged in connection with the murder was deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono. But Muchdi was acquitted of all charges by the South Jakarta District Court in December 2008. Meanwhile, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, then an off-duty Garuda pilot who was on the same Sept. 7, 2004 flight with Munir to Amsterdam, is serving a 20-year sentence for his part in the murder.
The revelation by WikiLeaks – in all of its aspects, including the question regarding its degree of acceptance and common practice in the Indonesian judicial system and judiciary – will unlikely have a direct impact on the possible reopening of the murder case.
Even if the leaked cables are considered legal evidence, which is unfortunately not possible in the Indonesian context, reopening of the murder case may meet an obstacle as the leaked cables are “stand-alone” evidence, which requires other supporting evidence prior to being able to be declared as complete and a case can be tried in court.
However, the “findings” by WikiLeaks at least serve as a warning for the nation that serious human rights violations remain. Or as Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Haris Azhar said: “These cables will definitely refresh the case. Today the perpetrators must be restless and the government is cornered.”
Past human rights violation cases, including the murder of Munir will continue to haunt the nation in its attempt to progress and excel in a time of tough global competition. They will at any time interrupt the process because they have never been completely settled, with the most responsible parties remaining at large.
The leaked cables by WikiLeaks thus perfectly serve as a reminder that the past wounds are not yet healed.
