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lain journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin alias Udin, who was murdered 17 years ago allegedly because of his reports, was named a national press hero by the Yogyakarta Journalists Solidarity for Udin over the weekend.

Udin was recognized during the Independence Day ceremony held by some 60 supporters of the solidarity group at the journalist'€™s grave at a cemetery in Gedongan village, Trirenggo, Bantul.

The group'€™s coordinator Mas'€™ud Fahlevi said that Udin was known as a critical journalist who dared to report corruption cases committed within his coverage area in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta.

'€œThe murder case is 17 years old. All of the 16 Yogyakarta Police chiefs have subsequently promised to solve the case. Yet nothing has happened'€ Mas'€™ud, expressing hope that the case would be resolved soon as the investigation would expire by next year.

'€œThe evidence is clear enough. If they really wanted to solve the case, this would actually be an easy task for the police,'€ Mas'€™ud said

Udin'€™s widow, Marsiyem, however expressed pessimism that the case would be thoroughly resolved, although the evidence was clear.

Previously on Friday, the date Udin died after he was beaten by unidentified person(s) at his home in Bantul, supporters of the People'€™s Coalition for Udin (K@MU) and activists from other organizations staged a rally in front of Yogyakarta'€™s Gedung Agung Presidential Palace, demanding the authorities to solve the murder case.

Wearing black clothing and carrying black umbrellas as a symbol of mourning, the protesters marched from the state palace to the neighboring Grand Post Office.

Sociologist Arie Soejito of Gadjah Mada University, who was among the protesters, said that sociologically the public actually had acknowledged the culprit(s) behind the murder of Udin. However, the police had yet to reveal anything.

'€œThe law just doesn'€™t want to reveal so because it is still siding with the authority,'€ said Arie in his speech at the rally.

He suggested that the public needed to continuously urge the police to thoroughly reveal information about the case as this could be part of the big movement to fight against the practices of impunity that was still evident in the country.

'€œThe democratic political system Indonesia has makes it possible for the civil society to urge the law enforcer to reveal the case,'€ he said.

Udin was beaten by unidentified person(s) on Aug. 13, 1996 and died three days later at the Yogyakarta Bethesda Hospital.

Many believe that the murder was related to Udin'€™s news coverage over then Bantul regent Sri Roso Sudarmo, who has denied the allegations.

According to the Criminal Code, the Udin murder case that was categorized as premeditated murder will be considered expired after 18 years from the time the crime was committed, meaning the authorities only have one year left to solve the case.

'€œThe people have to continuously demanded the police to solve the case because murdering journalists violates people'€™s rights to information,'€ another protester, Wazingatu Zakiyah of IDEA, told the rally participants.

Separately, the Yogyakarta Police said that they did not have a specific target to solve the case within a year.

'€œIf there is a new info then we will follow it up,'€ Yogyakarta Police deputy chief Sr. Comr. Ahmad Dofiri said when receiving representatives from the Alliance of Independence Journalists (AJI) Yogyakarta branch on Thursday afternoon.

During the meeting Heru Prasetya of AJI, who is also Udin'€™s former editor, presented the police with some information considered important to solve the murder case.

'€œI hope the police will intensively re-examine Sri Kuncoro and Edy Wuryanto to help reveal the case,'€ Heru said, referring to two names considered pivotal to the case.

Sri Kuncoro is Sri Roso'€™s nephew while Edy Wuryanto was a police officer who confiscated Udin'€™s block notes but lost them.