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Govt must find ‘lost’ documents on Munir's death: Investigator
Government officials must help to find a “lost” investigation report created by a fact-finding team on the case of slain rights defender Munir Said Thalib and proceed to follow up the case, an investigator has demanded.
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Activists from the Victims Solidarity for Justice Network protest in front of the Presidential Palace on Sept. 1. At the 457th protest, which is held every Thursday, the activists demanded President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo resolve all past human rights abuse cases, including a case on the murder of prominent human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, who died from arsenic poisoning in 2004. (Antara Photo/Sigid Kurniawan)
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he State Secretary must ask government officials for assistance in finding a “lost” investigation report created by a fact-finding team on the case of slain rights defender Munir Said Thalib and proceed to follow up the case, an investigator has demanded.
Some members of the fact-finding team on Munir's murder owned copies of the report, said rights activists Usman Hamid, who is also a member of the team. However, it would be more ethical for the government to trace back the report's whereabouts with the help of state officials involved in the team.
The government could consult with officials including Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, Law and Human Rights Ministry official Nazaruddin Bunas, Attorney General Office official Domu P. Sihite as well as the former head of the fact-finding team, Marsudi Hanafi, he said.
"I suppose State Secretary Pratikno can invite those figures to discuss the KIP's [Central Information Commission] ruling and to trace the report's whereabouts. When [the document] is found, he should immediately discuss with the President to plan on making the report public," Usman told journalists on Tuesday.
There were many ways to locate the document’s whereabouts, despite claims made by the State Secretariat that it did not possess the report. For the government to locate the findings and disclose them to the public as ordered by the KIP would prove the commitment made by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to resolve human rights abuse cases, including Munir's murder case, he added.
At the hearing held on Monday, the KIP stipulated the investigation report authored by the government-commissioned fact-finding team and submitted to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration in 2005 was public information and therefore should be disclosed immediately. (rin)
