Govt cannot wash its hands of missing people<\/p>\n
The fate of several missing people, most of whom are
\ngovernment critics and student activists, remains a mystery, even
\nthough some disappeared a year ago. Corporate lawyer and human
\nrights activist Mulya Lubis shares his view on what should be
\ndone.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Reports of missing people are nothing new in our
\nhistory. Since its infancy, the republic has been rife with
\nstories about people who are missing, killed, imprisoned or even
\nkidnapped.<\/p>\n
The fate of a few of these people eventually came to light,
\nsuch as Amir Sjarifudin, an independence fighter who was
\nreportedly kidnapped and killed. But the circumstances of his
\ndeath are still cloaked in mystery.<\/p>\n
In the mid-1960s, an untold number of people reportedly
\ndisappeared due to the ideological disputes which surfaced in the
\nturmoil after Sukarno's downfall. No definitive figures exist on
\nthe number who were killed or went missing.<\/p>\n
From a human rights viewpoint, however, disappearances of
\npeople caught in ideological disputes and a power struggle should
\nnever happen.<\/p>\n
A criminal suspect must be tried and punished. He must not be
\nexempted from trial or allowed to disappear into the woodwork.
\nThe human rights perspective argues that \"no circumstances
\nwhatsoever, whether a threat of war, a state of war, internal
\npolitical instability or any public emergency, may be invoked to
\njustify enforced disappearances\" (Article 7 of the UN Declaration
\non the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances).<\/p>\n
But tales of missing people persist. The \"mysterious killings\"
\nof the early 1980s, with reported deaths of many hoodlums, remain
\nfresh in our memories.<\/p>\n
There were also the Tanjung Priok and Lampung incidents, in
\nwhich many were reported missing and their whereabouts remain
\nunknown to this day.<\/p>\n
In more recent times, when the Jakarta headquarters of the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party (PDI) was attacked on July 27, 1996,
\nmany were also reported missing, spirited away to God knows
\nwhere.<\/p>\n
Now, names of students activists and prodemocracy campaigners
\nrank among those who have disappeared in mysterious circumstances
\nin recent months.<\/p>\n
As usual, no party has claimed responsibility. This is because
\nany acknowledgement of responsibility would wipe away the mystery
\nwhich is created, namely that missing people are clumped under
\nthe nebulous but pivotal term of the \"missing\". Thus, they cannot
\nbe identified as \"forced disappearances\", a category of crime
\ncondemned by international human rights institutions and the
\nUnited Nations.<\/p>\n
Among those who reacted to the reports was the commander of
\nthe Diponegoro Military Command of Central Java, who angrily
\ndismissed suggestions that security agents may have had a role in
\nthe disappearances.<\/p>\n
His attitude is understandable; Article 1 of the UN
\nDeclaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
\nDisappearances stipulates that \"no state shall practice, permit
\nor tolerate enforced disappearances\".<\/p>\n
Hence, the state assumes heavy responsibilities and
\nobligations because it can neither cause people to disappear nor
\ntolerate disappearances.<\/p>\n
It follows that it is the duty of the state and its
\napparatuses to guarantee the safety of all citizens, and also to
\nfree the people from the forbidding possibility of disappearing
\nor being forced to disappear.<\/p>\n
In a state based on law, it is an absolute necessity that all
\ncitizens and residents live without the threat of going missing
\nor having to live in hiding.<\/p>\n
Which does not in any way mean that people are untouchable and
\nunpunishable by the law for their criminal offenses. Instead, it
\nmeans that a court of law would fairly and legally try and punish
\nthem. This is the essence of a law-upholding state.<\/p>\n
Thus, the state must do its utmost to maintain security and
\norder. In the event of reports of missing people, the state and
\nits apparatuses, civilian and military, have the obligation to
\nlook for the missing people and punish those responsible.<\/p>\n
It follows that if any members of the state apparatus made
\n(dader) or helped to make (mede dader) people disappear, they
\nmust be held legally accountable for their actions.<\/p>\n
No lawful state can simply wash its hands of the matter by
\ndeclaring its apparatuses are not involved.<\/p>\n
It must be realized that the foundation of a law-upholding
\nstate is the responsibility the state assumes over the safety and
\nsecurity of its citizens and residents.<\/p>\n
Unless cases of missing people are handled seriously, people
\nwill lose faith in the integrity of a state which professes to
\nchampion the law.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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