News in generalsAn intriguing example of symbiosis is the appointment of
Brig. Gen. Marsudi Hanafi to head the 30-strong police team tasked with following up
on the recommendations of a government-sanctioned fact-finding team that recently completed a six-month investigation into the murder of human rights campaigner Munir.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko said yesterday that Marsudi was chosen because of his experience with the fact-finding team. "It will be easier for him to investigate the report and follow up on the recommendations he himself made with the fact-finding team."
Furthermore,
unlike the fact-finding team, the police team had the power under the Criminal Law Procedures Code to force people to appear for questioning.
Whether that means that General Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono, head of the
Badan Intelijen Negara (BIN), the State Intelligence Agency, will finally come clean on
the involvement of BIN, or its operatives, in Munir's assassination remains, as always, a matter of conjecture.
However, do bear in mind that Hendropriyono has already admitted other nefarious activities, including the
bugging of Australia's embassy in Jakarta during the East Timor crisis.
(Thanks Swanker for that link.)
Which leads neatly into the news that (that)
a UN panel of legal experts has recommended (that) Indonesian security forces and local militia leaders responsible for crimes against humanity in East Timor in 1999 should face an international tribunal if Jakarta does not prosecute them effectively within six months.
If it does not, the report recommends that the UN security council create an international criminal tribunal in a third state or refer the matter to the International Criminal Court.
Given the propensity of the Indonesian generals to grant themselves immunity, any international pressure is to be welcomed.
Another General (ret.), Governor Sutiyoso of Jakarta, is well-pleased. The view from City Hall is about to be enhanced with a new attraction emulating the
Las Vegas Bellagio dancing fountains.
Well, he might be pleased, but the
Jakarta Post is not.
With music and choreographed laser beams, the Rp. 26 billion (US$2.7 million) project is simply an embarrassment amid recent reports that at least 8,455 toddlers in the city are suffering from chronic undernourishment.
|
