Jakarta \u2014 A member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Bonnie\nTriyana, has stated that the acid attack against KontraS activist Andrie\nYunus represents an attack on the long history of the struggle for human\nrights in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
As a child of the nation who was born and grew up during the\nauthoritarian regime, she expressed her unwillingness to see the nation\nregress to a dark period when activists were abducted, tortured, and\nforcibly disappeared simply for daring to speak out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe acid attack against KontraS activist Andrie Yunus is not merely\nan ordinary criminal act,\u201d Bonnie stated in a statement in Jakarta on\nFriday.<\/p>\n
She strongly condemned the barbaric act of violence that violated\nhumanitarian principles. She cautioned that acts of terror intended to\nsilence critical voices would only provoke stronger waves of\ncriticism.<\/p>\n
\u201cHistory demonstrates that violence against activists has never\nsucceeded in suppressing freedom of expression; rather, civil society\nmovements have always risen stronger each time they face terror,\u201d she\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The attack, she noted, recalled a dark chapter in Indonesian history\nof violence against activists, ranging from the abductions of 1997-1998,\nthe murder of Marsinah (1993), Munir (2004), and acid attacks against\nlabour activists in the 1990s, many of which remain unresolved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese dirty practices of the past must not be repeated in the reform\nera,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
To this end, she urged police to promptly apprehend the perpetrators\nand uncover the intellectual architects behind the attack down to their\nroots. The perpetrators of terror must be brought to justice fairly and\ncannot be allowed to live freely.<\/p>\n
If apprehended, she maintained that the perpetrators should be\ncharged with multiple charges, including attempted premeditated murder\nwith a maximum prison sentence. The violent act nearly cost the victim\u2019s\nlife and caused burns covering 24 per cent of the body.<\/p>\n
The state, through law enforcement, she said, has a moral and\nconstitutional responsibility to ensure that cases of violence against\nactivists do not end in impunity, as has frequently occurred in the\npast.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe victim deserves maximum protection, particularly given their\nwork in human rights advocacy and freedom of expression,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She also encouraged civil society, activists, academics, media\npractitioners, and all elements of democracy to work together to ensure\nthe case reaches completion. The National Human Rights Commission must\nintervene to conduct an independent investigation to provide external\noversight of the legal process.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dpr-member-andrie-yunus-case-represents-attack-on-human-rights-struggle-1773413561", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }