Jakarta Globe, Edo Karensa & Carlos KY Paath, October 25, 2016
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| Former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressing the media at his house in Cikeas, Bogor district, West Java, on on Tuesday (25/10). (Antara Photo/ Yulius Satria Wijaya) |
Jakarta.
Former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the missing files from the
investigation into the murder of prominent human rights activist Munir Said
Thalib has turned into political issue against him, but that he will take
responsibility for the matter.
Yudhoyono,
who served as president from 2004 to 2014, was pressured to take responsibility
for the files, which are believed to have been lost during his last year in
office.
Munir died
on board a Garuda Indonesia flight to Amsterdam in September 2004, nearly a
month before Yudhoyono was inaugurated as president.
"The
legal issue has turned into politics. But I am no newbie to politics in this
country; this is something normal," Yudhoyono said during a press
conference at his residence in Cikeas, Bogor district, West Java, on Tuesday
(25/10).
"My
responsibility is to provide an explanation in a proper and relevant context to
a matter that has captured the public attention, in particular human rights
activists, who have certain interests in the Munir case," Yudhoyono said.
The former
president, who is also leader of the Democratic Party, said he was responsible
for follow-ups on the murder investigation, which was conducted by the National
Police, with the assistance of an independent fact-finding team.
Sudi
Silalahi, a former cabinet secretary during the Yudhoyono era, said in the
press conference that the previous administration had done everything possible
to support the investigation, including to allow the National Police's criminal
investigative unit (Bareskrim) to probe any government officials in the country
and abroad.
He added
that Yudhoyono never, at any point, ordered the investigation or law
enforcement efforts regarding the murder case to be halted.
"In
response to the fact-finding team's recommendations that indicated possible
involvement by [former intelligence chief] A.M. Hendropriyono, the questioning
of witnesses and convicts revealed no links to him," Sudi said.
Although
the investigation failed to provide satisfying results, Sudi said the probe had
been conducted properly and in accordance with the law and that Yudhoyono had
no authority at the time to intervene.
Also
present at the press conference was former top spook Syamsir Siregar and former
leader of the fact-finding team Marsudi Hanafi.
In response
to Yudhoyono's statement, Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence (Kontras) coordinator Haris Azhar deplored the fact that this
explanation had not been given to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo
during the transition in October 2014.
"Sudi
Silalahi blamed legal issues as the reason for the Munir murder case not having
been finalized yet. The statement is a strong signal that the current
administration should not stand idle to let the case be forgotten and not to do
something with it," Haris said in a statement.
There are
strong indications of the possible involvement of the State Intelligence Agency
(BIN), which was headed by Hendropriyono at the time, Haris said.
"To
open the fact-finding team's files on the Munir murder case will be a large and
serious task. But this is important to prove that the state is making progress
on law enforcement and human rights in Indonesia," Haris added.
He
expressed appreciation for Yudhoyono clearly stating that the case files are
not missing, as dossiers had also been submitted to national archives.
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