Assembly told to make decree on human rights<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Observers called on factions at the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR) yesterday not to dismiss hastily the
\ncampaign to establish a human rights charter.<\/p>\n
Moslem scholar Abdurrahman Wahid and human rights campaigner
\nMarzuki Darusman said yesterday it would be ideal if an
\nIndonesian bill of rights was made into a powerful Assembly
\ndecree.<\/p>\n
\"Human rights protection will be effective if its principles
\nare incorporated in a MPR decree,\" Abdurrahman, better known as
\nGus Dur, told reporters yesterday.<\/p>\n
Marzuki told The Jakarta Post yesterday that it would be
\nbetter if the principles were stipulated in an MPR decree. But he
\nadded it was not necessary to establish a separate decree to
\nincorporate the human rights principles.<\/p>\n
\"It may also be included in the State Policy Guidelines,\" he
\nsaid, adding that the State Policy Guidelines, known by its
\nIndonesian acronym of GBHN, was also an MPR decree.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman and Marzuki were commenting on the recent
\nrejection by both Golkar and Armed Forces factions to deliberate
\na document on human rights charter drawn up by the National
\nDefense and Security Affairs Council.<\/p>\n
Deputy chairman of the Assembly's Golkar faction Agung Laksono
\nand Deputy Speaker of the Golkar faction at the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) Abdul Gafur recently said it was not
\nnecessary to specifically establish a chapter for human rights
\nprinciples.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Armed Forces faction at the House Hari Sabarno
\nsaid it was not necessary to adopt a specific decree on human
\nrights principles because they were already contained in the
\nstate ideology Pancasila and several laws.<\/p>\n
The council's secretary-general Lt. Gen. (ret) Soekarto said
\nlast Tuesday that the charter on human rights, along with a draft
\nof the State Policy Guidelines that it drew up, was the
\ngovernment's response to public aspirations for better rights
\nprotection.<\/p>\n
The 1,000 members of the Assembly will start deliberating the
\nState Policy Guidelines in the next few weeks. They will regroup
\nin March to endorse the guidelines and elect a president and vice
\npresident.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman said legislators should not delay discussion on
\nthe establishment of the principles in an MPR decree as it could
\nprovoke people's anger and dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n
\"The only solution is to honestly put forward the people's
\naspirations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Marzuki called on the other minority factions -- the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
\n-- not to falter in fighting for the charter despite the dominant
\nGolkar and ABRI factions' rejection.<\/p>\n
\"They must continue their struggle for the deliberation of the
\nhuman rights principles,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He was optimistic the MPR factions would eventually raise the
\nissue at the Assembly's meetings.<\/p>\n
\"It's only a matter of where to place the human rights
\nprinciples because both Golkar and ABRI MPR factions did not
\nobject to the substance,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The draft charter is made up of 33 articles plus an
\nintroduction. If approved, it will be the Assembly's first
\ndeliberation on human rights.<\/p>\n
In 1966, the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly
\nprepared a draft human rights charter, but deliberation on the
\ndocument was later dropped because the body had to prioritize a
\nseries of measures to restore order following the communist coup
\nattempt in 1965. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/assembly-told-to-make-decree-on-human-rights-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}