Munir Said Thailib (1965-2004) was Indonesia’s most prominent human rights activist. He was one of the loudest critics of the Indonesian military, and never afraid to expose abuses by the Indonesian government and military. In 2004, Munir was poisoned with arsenic on a flight to the Netherlands. Organisations such as World Organisation Against Torture and the International Federation for Human Rights claim that on the highest level impunity continues to prevail in the assassination of Munir. Also his widow, Suciwati Munir, argues that on the presidential level there is reluctance to reveal the truth.

Now, eleven years later, a bicycle pad in The Hague is named after Munir. Amnesty International and the municipality of The Hague have invited Sucawati (acclaimed by TIME Magazine as an ‘Asian hero’) to The Hague for the opening of the Munirpad, and for a live-interview in the Humanity House.

About the speakers

Suciwati Munir continues her husband’s battle against impunity and human rights violations in Indonesia.  She tries to get the former head of the Indonesian secret service locked up for the assassination of her husband. In 2013 she opened the first human rights museum in Indonesia. Papang Hidayat (researcher Indonesia Amnesty International) will give a short introduction on the challenges for Jojo Widodo’s new government. Moderator is Gerry van Klinken (Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies).

This program is part of De Haagse Vrijheidsweken