Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JAKARTA12379
2006-10-11 11:23:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR JUSTICE IN MUNIR

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PREL PINR KCRM KJUS ID 
pdf how-to read a cable
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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 111123Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1071
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 9993
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PRIORITY 3260
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 1071
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 012379 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL PINR KCRM KJUS ID
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR JUSTICE IN MUNIR
SLAYING

REF: JAKARTA 12300

Classified By: Ambassador Lynn Pascoe, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 012379

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL PINR KCRM KJUS ID
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR JUSTICE IN MUNIR
SLAYING

REF: JAKARTA 12300

Classified By: Ambassador Lynn Pascoe, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador asked Suciwati, the widow of
slain human rights activist Munir, to meet with on him on
October 11 in order to reassure her of the USG's continuing
support for justice in the wake of the October 4th Supreme
Court acquittal of Pollycarpus Priyanto, who had been
previously convicted of Munir's murder. He told her we
remained deeply concerned that this case had not yet been
resolved, and would press GOI officials for concerted action.
Following the meeting, we released a press statement to
publicly underscore the need for the GOI to identify and
prosecute those responsible for the murder. Suciwati, and
two human rights leaders who accompanied her, said they were
shocked by the court's decision. They described the major
obstacle to solving the case as GOI lack of willingness to
"touch powerful institutions." They asked us to reiterate
our longstanding offer of technical assistance to the
Indonesian police, to which the Ambassador agreed. They laid
out a multi-prong strategy to pressure the GOI, including
urging us to press President Yudhoyono to release the
findings of the previous fact finding team, and to establish
a new one with a stronger mandate. Suciwati will be in New
York Oct. 15-17 to receive an award and Washington Oct. 17-19
to lobby. End Summary.

AMBASSADOR REITERATES OUR COMMITMENT
--------------


2. (C) At the Ambassador's request, Suciwati, the widow of
slain human rights activist Munir, met with him on October

11. She was accompanied by Usman Hamid, Head of the
Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, and
Rafendi Djamin, Coordinator of the Human Rights Watch Group.
Describing the Munir case as "extremely important" to
Indonesia's future and its reputation within the U.S. and
international community, the Ambassador said he would
continue to press the GOI to vigorously pursue justice for

Munir's murder. He told Suciwati that the USG remained
deeply concerned about this case. He also noted that we
remained willing to provide technical assistance to help
solve this heinous crime, and we would remind the police of
that offer. Following the meeting, we released a press
statement (see para 8) in order to underscore publicly our
ongoing commitment to seeking justice in this case and the
need for the GOI to take the necessary actions to do so.

SUPREME COURT DECISION: SHOCKING
--------------


3. (C) Suciwati and her colleagues told Ambassador Pascoe
that they were "shocked and confused" by the Indonesian
Supreme Court's October 4th acquittal - on the basis of
"insufficient evidence" - of Pollycarpus, accused of
poisoning Munir on board a Garuda airlines international
flight. They noted that the court's motive in exonerating
Pollycarpus of murder charges was unclear and contradictory,
especially as it had found him guilty of falsifying documents
in order to fly aboard the same flight as Munir. The
Attorney General Office's recent announcement that it would
review the case posed a dilemma for them: while they wanted
justice rendered, they opposed any dilution of the judicial
branch's authority, and that "technically," the Supreme
Court's decision was final.

LACK OF WILL TO INVESTIGATE
--------------


4. (C) Hamid and Djamin asserted that any new investigation
of the case and subsequent appeal would succeed only if new
evidence was uncovered. However, they claimed that the
police were not seriously investigating. Djamin described
visits to police headquarters in which law enforcement
officials asked him - a human rights worker - to help them
solve the case. Hamid asserted that the police and Attorney
General's office had never bothered to take even basic
investigative steps such as re-creating the crime scene or
obtaining legal authorization to access and print records of
text and phone messages exchanged between Pollycarpus and
Indonesian intelligence officials just prior to Munir's
poisoning - despite an official statement from the telephone
provider that Pollycarpus had communicated with a number
belonging to Indonesian intelligence. They asserted that
this reluctance to doggedly pursue the case pointed to the

JAKARTA 00012379 002 OF 003


GOI's fear of exposing powerful institutions and individuals
who may have been involved in Munir's murder.


5. (C) Hamid and Djamin criticized Police Chief Sutanto's
recent announcement that a new team was being set up to look
into the case, saying that the head of the team, Surya Dharma
Nasution, had in fact been assigned to the case once before.
At that time, he failed to implement the independent fact
finding team's recommendations to gain access to Pollycarpus'
telephone records. They implied that the "new team" was
simply a farce.

A WAY FORWARD?
--------------


6. (C) Suciwati and her colleagues laid out a strategy for
solving the murder and holding the guilty accountable,
including:

--Pressing President Yudhoyono to publicize the findings of
the fact finding team, while setting up a new one made up of
civil society, police, and government members and giving it a
stronger mandate to investigate and solve the crime.

--Encouraging the Indonesian parliament (DPR) to revitalize
its special team (currently dormant) on the Munir case.
However, they acknowledged that this would be "close to
impossible" since many political parties were "very afraid of
intelligence."

--Using Suciwati's recently filed civil suit against Garuda
Airlines for USD 1.4 million in damages for negligence
leading to Munir's death to unearth new information and keep
the case in the media spotlight.

--Enabling the police to apply effective investigative
methods by giving them U.S. and other foreign technical
assistance.

--Lobbying the USG to exert pressure on Indonesia. Suciwati
is departing for New York on October 13 to receive an award
from NGO Human Rights First. She is scheduled to be in
Washington October 17-19 and to have meetings on Capitol
Hill, in addition to those requested in the Department. She
will seek meetings with the NSC staff as well.

Desired U.S. Role
--------------


7. (C) Suciwati and her associates said that the U.S. could
play an important role by pressing Yudhoyono to release the
fact finding team's results, while urging him to set up a new
team with a stronger mandate to get to the root of the issue.
They also asked us to reiterate our offer to provide
technical assistance to the police, saying that this would
send a signal that our interest in the case remained strong.
The Ambassador confirmed that we would approach the police
and reiterate our offer. They appreciated the willingness of
U.S. lawmakers and officials to meet them, and hoped this
would send a strong message to the GOI.


8. (U) Text of Embassy press statement:

U.S. Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe met today with Suciwati, the
widow of noted human rights campaigner Munir in the wake of
the Indonesian Supreme Court's October 4 acquittal of
Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto for Munir's premeditated
murder. She was joined by Usman Hamid, Head of Kontras; and
Rafendi Djamin, Coordinator of the Human Rights Watch Group.

During the meeting, Ambassador Pascoe told them that the
United States regrets that there is currently no one who has
been held accountable for that crime. The Ambassador said
that the United States would continue to encourage Indonesia
to vigorously pursue justice for the murder of Munir. He
expressed the hope that statements by responsible officials
of the Government of Indonesia that the investigation will
continue would lead to any and all persons involved in
Munir's death being found and held accountable for their
crimes.

The U.S. Ambassador commended Suciwati for her brave
perseverance in pressing for her husband's murderer to be
brought to justice, and was happy that Munir and Suciwati
were to be honored by Human Rights First for their valiant
efforts to defend human rights. He wished Suciwati well

JAKARTA 00012379 003 OF 003


during her upcoming travel to the United States.
PASCOE