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View all search resultsUS pushes for justice for Munir's death
The US supports all efforts needed to bring those who ordered the assassination of the late human rights defender Munir Said Thalib to account, according to US Secretary of State John Kerry
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T
he US supports all efforts needed to bring those who ordered the assassination of the late human rights defender Munir Said Thalib to account, according to US Secretary of State John Kerry.
In a remark to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Munir's murder on Sept. 6, Kerry said that justice had not been served in Munir's case.
'Ten years ago today someone assassinated him because they feared he just might succeed,' Kerry said in a statement published on the US government's website. 'Still today, full accountability for all those allegedly involved remains elusive.'
He also recalled a promise made by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the latter's first year in office in 2004 to resolve the killing. 'Yudhoyono recognized that the credible resolution of Munir's murder case would be a key test of Indonesian democracy. That is still true today,' he said.
'Munir was a voice of conscience and clarity. He inspired a generation of activists, scholars, and public servants who today are transforming Indonesia. He spent his life working to make his country more democratic, more free, and more humane,' Kerry said.
'Today we join with the Indonesian people to commemorate the legacy of Munir, and we call for the protection of all who work for peace, democracy, and human rights around the world,' he added.
Munir was a prominent human rights campaigner who took up the cause of dozens of activists who had been subjected to forced disappearance during the last months of the Soeharto government in 1998. He also played a significant role in uncovering evidence of military responsibility for human rights violations in Aceh and then East Timor (now Timor Leste).
Munir died on board a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam on Sept. 7, 2004. An autopsy carried out by the Dutch authorities showed that he died as a result of arsenic poisoning. Although three Garuda staff were convicted for the killing, there are credible allegations that those responsible were at the highest levels of government. (nvn)
