M Bagus Ibrahim, Batu – Dozens of people belonging to the United People's Awakening Alliance held a symbolic protest and a visit to a grave at the Sisir Public Cemetery in Batu City on Monday afternoon September 7.
The gathering was held to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the death of renowned human rights activist Munir Said Thalib.
The action, which took place from 3.30-6 pm, featured a series of activities including visiting the grave, a silent protest, reflection, candle-lighting and calls for a thorough investigation into Munir's death.
Participants included various elements of society, representatives from the Kamisan (Thursday) Action committee, the Brawijaya Restless Students Alliance and the Malang Raya Student Executive Board (BEM).
Eko, from the Kamisan committee, stated that the visit to Munir's grave was not merely an annual ritual but a symbolic protest against the state's lack of seriousness in handling human rights cases.
"Today we are dedicating our time to visit the grave of a national hero, Cak [Brother] Munir. This action serves as a symbolic protest against the state, which to this day has failed to give significant attention to investigating the death of Munir Said Thalib", Eko told Detik Jatim on Monday.
Eko emphasised that although the case is considered to have expired under the Criminal Code 18-year statute of limitations, activists are urging the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) ad hoc team to fully investigate and reopen the Munir murder case.
This is because the mastermind or the intellectual actor behind the murder has yet to be touched by the law.
Furthermore, the group highlighted the suspicious disappearance of the case files regarding Munir from the Ministry of State Secretariat. According to Eko, this reflects the state's fatal negligence in delivering justice to one of its own citizens.
This grave visit is part of the "Black September" (September Hitam) series of events organised by civil society groups throughout August and September. According to Eko, Munir's name is being invoked as a catalyst to demand justice for various other cases of gross human rights violations.
A number of historical events are to be reflected upon during the momentum of Black September including the killing of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani in Papua in 2022, the murder of environmental activist Salim Kancil in 2015, the Semanggi I and II tragedies in 1998, the anti-communist purge in 1965 and the Kanjuruhan sports stadium stampede in October 2022.
"The hope is that these resistance actions will continue. Not just on September 7, but in every struggle by friends to present the figure of Munir and uphold human rights justice in Indonesia", he asserted.
Notes
On September 7, 2004 renowned human rights defender Munir Said Thalib died of arsenic poisoning onboard a Garuda Indonesia flight. Although off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto was convicted of the murder in 2005 the alleged mastermind behind the assassination, former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy Muchdi Purwopranjono, was acquitted of all charges.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "22 Tahun Kematian Munir Dikenang dengan Ziarah dan Aksi di Kota Batu".]
