Justice or Injustice?

The murder, and just about everyone agrees that it was a murder, of Munir Said Thalib or more simply Munir, has seen a tortuous pursuit of justice that seems to have been thwarted yet again with the acquittal of the most recent defendant in the case, Muchdi Purwopranjono.

I am looking forward to getting a copy of the judgment and reading for myself the legal reasoning of the judges in dismissing the charges and ordering Purwopranjono's immediate release. The statement that "Muchdi Purwopranjono cannot be proved legally and convincingly to have ordered the murder of Munir," as stated by Soeharto J. (no relation to the former dictator) hardly seems to be sufficient.

The investigators, prosecutors, and courts have failed to convict anyone for ordering the killing and have in the the years since the murder in 2004, on a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam, have managed to convict a couple of people for being part of a conspiracy. Interestingly, those convicted (Indra Setiawan, former Head of Garuda, and pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto) of being part of the conspiracy have fingered Purwoprajono as being the person to have ordered the killing.

Purwopranjono had motive, revenge. Purwopranjono had been appointed to head up the Kopassus unit (Indonesian Special Forces), but held the appointment only briefly. He was removed from the appointment after Munir alleged that Purwopranjono had been instrumental in the kidnapping and subsequent disappearances of activists.

This did not hinder Purwopranjono's ability to get himself appointed to the Deputy Head position of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN). It is alleged that it is from this position that Purwopranjono orchestrated the assassination of Muir.

In essence, this decision means that as of today no-one has been held accountable for the ordering of the murder and orchestrating the conspiracy. Therefore, it is reasonable to hold the belief that there are still significant problems with the pursuit of justice in Indonesia. It seems that some people are more equal before the law than others and in some cases these people are not even accountable to the law.

It is sad all round, but perhaps it is most sad for Munir's widow, Suciwati, and his children. Who have lost a husband and a father to the murderous excesses of the state without seeing any hint of justice.

I remain the eternal optimist and hence remain confident that one day the people responsible will be held accountable for this assassination. If not, then there is always a belief that "what goes around, comes around". Furthermore, I firmly believe that "bad karma" will revisit those who perpetrate evil when they least expect it.

China, Tibet, and Sharon Stone

The fact that celebrities are always hungry for just that, celebrity, it must not be surprising to see Sharon Stone throw herself into the thick of things in the fight for a Free Tibet. Yet, this might come at some cost, personal and professional, to her. However, one might argue that this is in fact karma.

The 12 May earthquake that struck China was devastating in terms of not only the destruction of infrastructure but in human life! The official death toll is now above 68,000 and is expected to continue to rise.

The Sichuan province where this quake occurred has been beset by aftershocks and the biggest current fear is that dams in the area have become unstable and are likely to burst. The Chinese government is currently evacuating people from in and around the most seriously threatened dams. So far some 160,000 people have been moved and that number could swell to more than 1.3 million in the worst case scenario.

The idea that there is 50,000 Olympic sized swimming pools of water that could be released in a catastrophic dam burst is difficult to visualize in terms of the sheer scope of what that would look like.

With more than 45 million people affected by the quake and some 5 million homeless the idea that this is bad karma coming back to level the score is in bad taste. The idea of what goes around comes around in individual cases may be acceptable but when the bad karma to which you claim affects the lives of so many innocents then there are issues of common human decency to be explored.

I think that Tibet should be free of Chinese rule. I think that Tibet should be independent. However, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has recently been on the record stating that he only wants greater autonomy to be afforded to the people of Tibet rather than independence. Whether he harbors other desires for an independent Tibet he is not saying so publicly at the moment.

Back to Sharon Stone. A brief interview with her where the comment were made has appeared on You Tube where she is claiming that the destructive earthquake that caused such huge loss of life was just a case of bad karma coming back to haunt China for the way that it has mistreated Tibetans.

The response has been swift. Chinese biggest theatre chain has decided to ban her movies from their theatres. This will severely limit the revenue that her films will take in Asia's biggest film market.

I guess though that bad karma is true as the remarks she made have also come back to haunt her as well. I am all for people expressing their personal opinions and beliefs. I am more than happy for Sharon Stone to express her disgust at the treatment of Tibetans by the Chinese government. I am a lot less sympathetic to comments that justify the extent of the human suffering on karma alone.

This in no way belittles the suffering of the Tibetans at the hands of the Chinese. The idea that bad karma comes back to haunt you might logically be applied in reverse, that is maybe the Tibetans have done something to deserve their bad karma.

Thinking before one speaks is always good advice!