TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - At the corner of Den Haag, on a small road of 5-feet wide, the Netherlands paid tribute to Munir by naming the street his name. “Munirpad - Munir Said Thalib 1965-2004, Indonesian Human Rights Defender,” the plate says.
On working days, Munirpad always sees a lot of people, as it connects Martin Luther Kinglan (Martin Luther King Street) and Architect Luthmaanstraat (Architect Luthmann Street). Munirpad is not a common street, yet it is a specific bicycle and pedestrian lane.
Den Haag Mayor, Jozias van Aartsen, is set to inaugurate the street as a resect to Munir, who was killed on a plane from Jakarta heading Dutch in 2004. Back in 2011, Den Haag mayor once uttered the idea to Munirs wife Suciwati.
“For me, it is incedible,” said Suciwati last Saturday. “This sets as a warning so that our nation does not ignore the case.”
It is also not a coincidence that Munirpad is located at an area where the street names derive from Human Rights Defenders. Among others are Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights and anti-discrimination pioneer from United States; Mahatma Gandhi, anti-violence pioneer from India; and Folke Bernadotte, Swedish negotiator in the World War II and Arab-Israel conflict in 1947-1948.
YUKE MAYARATIH (BELANDA) | MUHAMMAD MUHYIDDIN
