Police say Indonesian National Airline, GARUDA implicated in a Murder of a Passenger and in a Cover-up
Read here full article "Police Probe Garuda Link to Munir’s Murder"
Police say they will investigate allegations that national airline GARUDA Indonesia was involved in last year's murder of outspoken human rights activist, Munir Said Thalib.
Munir was born in 1965 and was active on human rights issues even as a law student. After obtaining a law degree from Brawijaya University, he worked for the East Java Branch of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), and during the 1990s was legal counsel for a number of victims of official violence and repression. He now leads YLBHI's operational division.
Munir first came to public prominence at the end of the Suharto period through his role in the campaign that ensued when, in late 1997 and early '98, two dozen pro-democracy activists were abducted in suspicious circumstances. Read here for more on profile of Munir
Munir (38), founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial), died of acute arsenic poisoning in September while on Garuda Flight GA-974 from Jakarta to Singapore to Amsterdam.
Dutch authorities conducted an autopsy that revealed 465 milligrams of undigested arsenic in Munir's stomach - more than double the normally lethal dose of 200 milligrams.
The government-backed fact-finding team, which consists of rights activists, lawyers, and police detectives, on Thursday said there were indications that Garuda officials were involved in Munir’s death.
The team accused Garuda of violating an international aviation law because airlines are required to investigate any deaths that occur during their flights.
Brigadier General Marsudi Hanafi, head of the team, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press:"There are strong indications that Garuda's employees were directly or indirectly involved in Munir's death.
Three possible suspects from the airline had been identified:
We found evidence that showed Garuda's officials (including the GARUDA director) conspired to cover up the wrongdoing found by the team. They issued some letters to cover up various inconsistencies found by the team
There is hard evidence that the murder of Munir is a conspiracy. There is no way it was committed by individuals."
Setiawan was alleged being involved in the conspiracy because in his initial statement to police he denied ever meeting Pollycarpus, but later told the fact-finding team he knew the pilot.
Local media reports have pointed to a Garuda pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who has alleged links to military intelligence and convinced Munir to change his economy class seat for a business class seat.
Initial reports said Pollycarpus was off-duty at the time of Munir’s death, but Garuda later claimed he had been assigned to serve as an aviation security officer on the first leg of the flight.
Another member of the team, rights activist Asmara Nababan, said the team doubted a claim by state-owned airport management firm PT Angkasa Pura that it did not have closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the time Munir was at Jakarta’s Sukarno Hatta International Airport on the night of September 6.
"There are 700 spots covered by CCTV at the airport, which are handled by two operators, so how come they said they did not have the tapes? It's either that management at Angkasa Pura and Garuda is extremely poor, or that they are part of the conspiracy," he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.
Hanafi has advised the National Police to question the management of Angkasa Pura over its poor surveillance.
The Suspect GARUDA Pilot
Munir’s colleagues have said Pollycarpus is no ordinary pilot but may be a covert operative for the State Intelligence Agency (BIN). Their investigations have revealed that he piloted flights - ostensibly for Christian missionaries - in Irian Jaya (now Papua) province over 1985-87 when the military was attacking separatist rebels in the territory.
Pollycarpus later flew planes to evacuate Indonesians from East Timor in 1999 after the military and its militia proxies unleashed carnage there in response to the territory’s vote to secede from Indonesia. East Timor’s notorious former militia leader Eurico Guterres, who has close links to senior generals, has admitted to knowing the pilot.
Suspicion has focused on Pollycarpus because he allegedly telephoned Munir’s house two or three days before the activist left for the Netherlands. He allegedly told Munir’s wife Suciwati he would be on the same flight as her husband.
The pilot has denied calling Munir’s house and insisted he was not involved in his death. He also denies any links to military intelligence agencies. Rights activists have said they suspect BIN issued Pollycarpus a gun license.
It has been established that Pollycarpus introduced himself to Munir and Suciwati when they arrived at Sukarno-Hatta on the night of September 6 - although Angkasa Pura claims it has no CCTV footage of the three meeting at the airport.
How Munir Died on the GARUDA flight
Munir was carrying an economy class ticket when he boarded Flight GA-974, but Pollycarpus persuaded him to take his business class seat. The pilot then took a seat in first class.
During the Singapore-Jakarta leg of the flight, Munir ordered and consumed noodles and orange juice, while Pollycarpus was reportedly seen pacing nervously between the bar in first class and the cockpit.
When the plane arrived at Singapore’s Changi Airport at 11.40pm Jakarta time, Munir went to the waiting room, while Pollycarpus left the airport.
At 12.50am Munir re-boarded the aircraft and this time sat in his economy seat.
Within a few hours he was in agonizing pain and suffering severe nausea and diarrhea. He died at least three hours before the plane landed in Amsterdam.
YOUR VIEWS ?
Send This Post to a Friend ->
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Go to Latest Posting