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Munir’s widow unconvinced of 11th-hour scramble for ‘justice’
Suciwati has alleged the state-sponsored rights body of resorting to “stalling tactics” with its decision to form yet another ad hoc team to look into her husband's murder, on the day before the case's statute of limitations expires.
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Suciwati, a rights activist and the widow of slain human rights defender Munir Said Thalib, speaks before supporters on Sept. 7, 2017, during the weekly Kamisan silent protest in front of Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. She has alleged that the state-sanctioned human rights commission, Komnas HAM, is running the clock down on the statute of limitations for her husband’s case, which expires on Sept. 7, 2022. (The Jakarta Post/Ibrahim Irsyad)
T
he prospects of delivering justice to slain human rights activist Munir Said Thalib has grown bleak with the case’s statute of limitations due to expire next week, even as the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) starts setting up an ad hoc team to settle one of the country’s most controversial murder cases.
The statute of limitations for Munir’s murder, which occurred 18 years ago aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight headed to Amsterdam, lapses next week in accordance with the Criminal Code.
Suciwati, the late activist’s widow, has lambasted the government for years of inaction in discovering the masterminds behind her husband’s assassination. She has also castigated Komnas HAM for its unwillingness to declare the incident a grave human rights violation, even after repeated calls from activists who presented supporting arguments from experts.
“I think that when it keeps getting postponed, this means Komnas HAM is delaying justice. That is its ultimate intention, I think. But it won’t stop me from speaking out about Munir's case, as this remains the country’s duty to solve,” Suciwati told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
The Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (KASUM) has expressed fears that if the case is treated as an ordinary crime, the real perpetrators, who remain unknown to this day, will get off scot-free.
Andi Muhammad Rezaldy of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), which is part of KASUM, expressed his disappointment with Komnas HAM for being “very slow” in designating Munir’s murder a gross human rights violation.
For KASUM, the Munir case checks all the boxes to be considered a gross rights violation under prevailing laws. Specifically, it is a “crime against humanity”, legally defined as a systemic or widespread attack against a civilian or civilians.
