For his courage and dedication in fighting for human rights and the civilian control of the military in Indonesia.
Munir (1965-2004) was an Indonesian human rights lawyer working to stop forced disappearances and political violence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2004, he was assassinated due to his activism.
He first came to public prominence at the end of President Suharto’s dictatorial reign at the end of the 1990s through his role in a campaign in response to two dozen pro-democracy activists being abducted under suspicious circumstances. At the height of this campaign, Munir founded the human rights organisation Kontras (Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence) with the backing of 12 pro-democracy NGOs.
Kontras focuses on fighting political violence, encouraging respect for due process of law, ensuring victims’ physical and psychological recovery, and promoting reconciliation and peace.
On September 7, 2004, Munir died on a flight from Indonesia to the Netherlands. The autopsy undertaken by the Dutch Forensic Institute discovered lethal levels of arsenic in his body. In 2008, Indonesian pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto was found guilty of the murder but many have suspected that Indonesia’s intelligence agency ordered the killing. Over the years, the case has dragged on with the arrest of an official, his subsequent acquittal, and with witnesses pulling out of the trial. Until today, Munir’s widow Suciwati continues her fight for justice for her husband’s murder.
Human rights in the sense of human solidarity have created a new universal and equal language going beyond racial, gender, ethnic or religious boundaries.
Munir, 2000 Laureate
Munir began his career at 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 then led YLBHI's operational division.
He first came to public prominence at the end of President Suharto's dictatorial reign through his role in the campaign that ensued when, in late 1997 and early 1998, two dozen pro-democracy activists were abducted in suspicious circumstances. At the height of this campaign, Munir founded the human rights organisation Kontras (Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence) with the backing of 12 pro-democracy NGOs, including YLBHI. Initially the Co-ordinator of its Working Committee, Munir then chaired its Management Board.
Kontras focuses on fighting political violence, encouraging respect for due process of law, ensuring victims' physical and psychological recovery, and promoting reconciliation and peace. Kontras publishes a regular magazine that reports violence as soon as it takes place, and has a number of regional project offices. YLBHI and Kontras have also developed media education for the public on human rights through radio programmes.
In September 1999, Munir was appointed a member of the Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations in East Timor (KPPHAM), set up by Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission. Its investigations produced a wealth of evidence of the Indonesian army's involvement in recruiting, financing, training and using the militia which caused such havoc at the time of the UN Referendum. Its report in early 2000 led to judicial investigations into the conduct of six senior army officers, including the former Chief of Staff, General Wiranto. Munir also taught human rights in police and army training, seminars and workshops, and was appointed to a drafting committee for law on human rights courts, which was meant to be presented to the Indonesian Parliament during 2000.
On September 7, 2004, Munir died on a flight from Indonesia to the Netherlands. The autopsy undertaken by the Dutch Forensic Institute discovered lethal levels of arsenic in his body. In 2008, Indonesian pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto was found guilty of the murder but many have suspected that Indonesia's intelligence agency ordered the killing. Over the years, the case has dragged on with the arrest of an official, his subsequent acquittal, and with witnesses pulling out of the trial. Until today, Munir's widow Suciwati continues her fight for justice for her husband's murder.
After the execution of Ogoni leader Ken Saro-Wiwa in Nigeria in 1995, this is the second time that a Right Livelihood Laureate was murdered for his work.
