A year of unresolved rights abuse cases<\/p>\n
By Budiman Moerdijat<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Leading rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman
\ndescribed 1998 as the year when unresolved cases of violations
\nwere the "most visible dimension" of Indonesia's rights
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
To many activists the year may have also been among the most
\nfrustrating as they contended with the fact that revealing rights
\nviolations was by no means a solution nor indeed an insurance
\nagainst a repeat. This has also been the year when the rights
\nactivists themselves have had to put their lives and safety on
\nthe line for the cause.<\/p>\n
"The unresolved cases are the very symbol of human rights
\ntransgressions," Marzuki said.<\/p>\n
The fatal shooting of four students at Trisakti University in
\nMay in Jakarta, the riots in the same month here and in other
\ncities, the disappearance of students and activists, the
\natrocities in Aceh, East Timor and Irian Jaya, and the Black
\nFriday incident in November -- these are the top of a long list
\nof human rights violations that have not been resolved in court.<\/p>\n
The unresolved cases stood out, Marzuki said, in spite of the
\ngovernment's commitment and its "rhetoric" in the form of the
\nNational Action Plan for Human Rights launched in June, the human
\nrights charter that was passed in the Special Session of the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly in November, and the possible
\nsubmission of a bill to reinforce the existence of the National
\nCommission on Human Rights.<\/p>\n
The situation was a paradox and a major challenge to the
\ngovernment's actual commitment, Marzuki said, adding that the
\npotential for violence remained large given the economic and
\npolitical uncertainty here.<\/p>\n
The downfall of former president Soeharto in May led to the
\nrevelation of serious human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated
\nby Armed Forces (ABRI) personnel.<\/p>\n
For instance, after years of silence, the Acehnese began
\ntelling the nation in June a horrendous tale of human rights
\nabuses during a decade-long military operation aimed at quelling
\nthe separatist movement in the westernmost province.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights, which Marzuki now
\nchairs, said in August that at least 781 people were killed and
\nthousands of others suffered during the military operations that
\nbegan in 1989.<\/p>\n
Aceh Governor Sjamsuddin Mahmud, however, said earlier this
\nmonth that the operations had left 1,021 people dead.<\/p>\n
The rights body also said that at least 368 people were
\ntortured and 163 people are still listed as missing. It added
\nthat at least 102 women were raped, and disappearances and extra-
\njudicial killings had widowed 3,000 women and left between 15,000
\nand 20,000 children as orphans.<\/p>\n
Amid mounting public pressure, ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto
\nvisited Aceh in August and withdrew combat troops deployed from
\noutside the province. He also apologized for the military's
\nconduct, which he said had exceeded "acceptable norms".<\/p>\n
"ABRI has been trying to project a better image with efforts
\nto come to terms with past human rights violations but these
\nefforts have not been matched with concrete actions, that is by
\ntaking their personnel to court and indicting them
\nappropriately," Marzuki said.<\/p>\n
"The case of Prabowo is the prime example and cases of other
\nincidents that involved members of ABRI have also not been
\nresolved," added Marzuki.<\/p>\n
Former Army Special Forces (Kopassus) Commander Lt. Gen. (ret)
\nPrabowo Subianto was discharged from the military in August and
\ntwo other Kopassus senior officers were released from active duty
\nfor their alleged involvement in the abductions of political and
\nstudent activists earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Public pressure has also been mounting on Wiranto to put
\nSoeharto's son-in-law on trial for his involvement in the
\nkidnappings, but the demand is still unmet.<\/p>\n
The independent Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
\nViolence (Kontras), which has been campaigning for the location
\nof activists who are still missing, once stated that National
\nMilitary Police investigating the abduction of political
\nactivists were "powerless".<\/p>\n
"Prabowo may hold the 'trump card'. If he was court
\nmartialled, he could reveal all the facts behind the abductions,
\nincluding who gave him the order," M.M. Billah, a member of
\nKontras' advisory council, said in August.<\/p>\n
"The 'disclosure' could implicate many ABRI generals,
\nincluding Prabowo's superiors at the time of the abductions and
\nthus including the Army chief of staff, the ABRI commander and
\nthe supreme commander (then former president Soeharto)," he said.<\/p>\n
"It would also ruin ABRI as a whole. That's why ABRI must have
\nthought that it was better to discharge Prabowo rather than bring
\nhim before a military court," Billah added.<\/p>\n
At the height of the abductions in February, Wiranto and the
\ncurrent Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security
\nFeisal Tanjung were respectively the army chief of staff and ABRI
\ncommander.<\/p>\n
Marzuki therefore recommended that military personnel who
\ncommitted abuses should be brought before a civilian court,
\nrather than a military tribunal, in order to ensure impartiality.<\/p>\n
"We need to review the judicial system to allow members of
\nABRI to be tried in a civilian court," Marzuki said.<\/p>\n
Human rights groups have said that it is almost impossible for
\nmilitary judges and prosecutors to act independently because they
\nbow to their superiors' command.<\/p>\n
The rights groups said that independent bodies should be given
\nthe power to investigate military personnel for alleged human
\nrights violations.<\/p>\n
Citing the lengthy legal process toward justice, Marzuki
\nsuggested the alternative of campaigning for justice through
\npolitical means.<\/p>\n
"The government would have to be firm in taking these
\nactions ... but ... how strong is the government today?" Marzuki
\nasked.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged a "dramatic change in the atmosphere"
\nfollowing the handing over of power from Soeharto to B.J.
\nHabibie.<\/p>\n
"The public has begun to have self-confidence in claiming
\ntheir rights, but the problem now is to have a political system
\ncapable of managing both their dismay and their aspirations,"
\nMarzuki said.<\/p>\n
As far as public awareness of human rights was concerned,
\nthere was now a growing need for wider public debate, Marzuki
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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