From arsenic to acid: Impunity and the retreat of civilian supremacy
From the poisoning of Munir to an acid attack left unpunished, Indonesia’s military justice system reveals a chilling truth: impunity isn’t a breakdown of the law, but a calculated display of power.
Munir Said Thalib's assassination by arsenic laid bare the Indonesian military's disdain for civilian supremacy and rule of law. Twenty years later, a fellow human rights activist, Andrie Yunus, endured an acid attack without the military facing consequences. Both cases reveal a chilling truth: impunity isn't a mere legal breakdown, but a calculated display of power.
In 2004, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, an off-duty Garuda pilot, was convicted for Munir's murder but later had his sentence reduced multiple times. The Fact-Finding Team's report on his case mysteriously disappeared, effectively silencing evidence of senior intelligence complicity. Andrie Yunus' acid attack by TNI intelligence personnel echoed Munir's fate.
The Jakarta High Military Court II recently reduced the sentences of two convicted soldiers, maintaining their active duty status. This pattern indicates that the military justice system merely changes its form while preserving its essence of shielding those in power.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
