Human Rights Activist Poisoned on Flight

The British human rights group TAPOL claims that the death of Indonesian activist Munir Said Thalib, 38, was due to poisoning by assassins. He died on a flight from Singapore to Amsterdam. Results of an autopsy by the Dutch Forensics Institute indicate that Mr. Munir had ingested high levels of arsenic which caused his death. TAPOL issued a statement contending that he had been assassinated because of his human rights activism against the Indonesian government.

"On many occasions, Munir fearlessly exposed the role of the powerful Indonesian armed forces in acts of repression, incurring their wrath on many occasions. Some senior officers may well have seen Munir as their most dangerous foe.

"During the many years we have campaigned for human rights, this is the first time, to our knowledge, that an Indonesian human rights activist has been murdered in this way though many others have suffered horrific fates in the course of their work. That this should have occurred several years after the collapse of the Soeharto regime makes the tragedy even more chilling."

Indonesian police will be sending a team of investigators to Holland to "study the case."

In two reports I've read, it is strongly hinted that the government of Indonesia is behind the assassination.