Govt curtails human rights, activists says<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The human rights condition in the country has been deteriorating
\nsince the government announced wars on separatism and terrorism
\nlast year, rights watchdogs said.<\/p>\n
The Human Rights Watch Group (HRW) said the government's
\npolicies on the two issues had sparked new humanitarian and human
\nrights crises in the country, worsening its human rights record.<\/p>\n
The group, which consists of 28 non-governmental organizations
\n(NGOs), is expected to present its 2003 evaluation of Indonesia's
\nhuman rights condition during the 60th session of the United
\nNations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva next month.<\/p>\n
The HRW highlighted policies that were imposed last year on
\nAceh and Papua provinces, both of which are still struggling to
\nsettle separatist conflicts.<\/p>\n
The government imposed martial law on Aceh on May 19, 2003
\nafter talks to maintain a cease-fire between the government and
\nthe Free Aceh Movement (GAM), brokered by the Henry Dunant
\nCentre, faltered.<\/p>\n
Despite protests from rights groups and regret expressed by
\ninternational donors, President Megawati Soekarnoputri decided to
\nextend the martial law another six months.<\/p>\n
Martial law allows the military to restrict civilian rights,
\nincluding freedom of expression, and the imposition of the law
\nhas been fraught with rights abuses.<\/p>\n
"Both warring sides are responsible for the atrocity. Indeed,
\nthe extension of the law means an extended gross violation of
\nhuman rights," the HRW said in a report released on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The group recorded 166 cases of physical abuse and torture,
\n200 arbitrary arrests and detention, 43 abductions, 54
\ninvoluntary disappearances and 145 extrajudicial killings, as
\nwell as 22 attacks against journalists between May and October.<\/p>\n
"While being aware of the fact that GAM, too, has committed
\nserious human rights violations, it is the government of
\nIndonesia that holds the key to any political solution to the
\nconflict," the group said.<\/p>\n
Fahrul Syahmega, a rights activist, deplored the government,
\nGAM and civil society for lacking the will to promote peace in
\nthe province.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia has many laws that support peacebuilding in Aceh
\ninstead of martial law," he said.<\/p>\n
In Papua, the government's issuance of a 2003 Presidential
\nDecree to implement Law No. 49\/1999 on the division of Papua into
\nthree provinces and the revision of the decree on the Papuan
\nPeople's Council (MRP) has contributed to a series of bloody
\nincidents there late last year, the group said.<\/p>\n
"Neither the law nor the decree reflect the needs of locals,
\nwhile the bill has blocked Papua's involvement in politics
\nthrough the MRP," it said.<\/p>\n
The revised decree on the MRP establishes the council as a
\nbody dealing with tribal and cultural affairs, and not a Papuan
\nrepresentative council to the government.<\/p>\n
Separately, Ifdhal Kasim of the Institute for Policy Research
\nand Advocacy (ELSAM), a member of the HRW, said the government's
\ncampaign on war against terror had opened more loopholes for
\nrights violations.<\/p>\n
Since the terrorist attack on Bali two years ago, the
\ngovernment has enacted a legislation most rights watchdogs have
\nslammed for justifying rights abuses.<\/p>\n
Antiterrorism Law No. 15\/2003 is "a legislation of an
\nauthoritarian character" that ignores basic rights, Ifdhal said.<\/p>\n
He feared that the law would only empower intelligence
\nagencies, the military and police to further curtail people's
\nfreedoms.<\/p>\n
The law enables the detention of terror suspects for seven
\ndays upon the basis of intelligence reports, without the
\nknowledge of their families or lawyers.<\/p>\n
The government has completed the amended law, which increases
\nthe detention period to 30 days.<\/p>\n
Under the Criminal Code, preliminary evidence is required to
\narrest an individual.<\/p>",
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