Human rights and justice<\/p>\n
About one month short of a year after a passerby chanced upon
\nher horribly mutilated body lying in a deserted spot in a rice
\nfield in East Java, the ghost of Marsinah continues to haunt this
\nnation's conscience with unabated vindictiveness. A few questions
\nconcerning the case appear to have been answered during the
\ntrials of the past weeks in Surabaya and Sidoarjo, but the
\nanswers to many more remain a mystery.<\/p>\n
Now, in the latest turn of developments surrounding the
\nMarsinah case, the National Commission on Human Rights appears to
\nhave confirmed suspicions of foul play. In what is easily its
\nmost critical statement so far, the Commission says it has found
\nirregularities in the way the suspects were arrested and treated.
\nIt is urging the authorities to look into the charges and to
\npunish the parties responsible.<\/p>\n
A number of points mentioned in the Commission's cautiously
\nphrased statement deserve our attention. First, the Commission
\nsays it has found indications of "various forms of torture,
\nphysical and mental." Second, it has found evidence of
\nunwarranted intervention by the local military agency in the
\naffairs of PT Citra Putra Surya. Third, the Commission says
\n"other people" than those already arrested and tried were
\npossibly involved in the murder of the 23-year-old labor activist
\nand suggests that the authorities look into the matter.<\/p>\n
Clearly, the Commission's unexpected findings can help shed at
\nleast a bit more light on this national cause celebre and clear
\nup some of the questions that linger. On the other hand, the
\npaper somehow serves to place a perhaps unintended emphasis on
\nsome of the more disturbing aspects of the case. What do the
\nCommission's findings mean?<\/p>\n
Quite evidently, the 23-year-old factory worker was targeted
\nbecause she was a nuisance to her employers. That this is a case
\nof murder is also quite obvious, considering the ghastly wounds
\nand bruises that were found on her body. But who actually ordered
\nthe murder and who raised the hand that killed her? How was she
\nkilled, and where? And if a plot was involved, who took part in
\nthe conspiracy?<\/p>\n
Sure, all of those questions were apparently answered during
\neither the interrogations or during the trial of the nine
\nsuspects presented by the authorities. But what is one to believe
\nwhen almost all of them later retracted their statements on the
\ngrounds that they were extracted by torture? Why have all of the
\njudges been so stubborn in refusing to listen to complaints of
\ntorture and in insisting on basing their judgments only on the
\nwritten confessions obtained during the pre-trial procedures?<\/p>\n
Surely, one of the most disturbing questions which the
\nCommission's findings raises is this: If all, or even some, of
\nthe earlier charges of torture and coercion were true, then why
\nhas it been so tough for the defendants, the witnesses, the
\ndefense lawyers and the lawyers of the Legal Aid Institute to
\npersuade the courts to re-examine the facts?<\/p>\n
In view of all these allegations -- assuming for now that this
\nis what they are -- of foul play, we believe it would only serve
\nto bolster the prestige of this country's judiciary if its
\nauthorities would at least lend an ear to those charges.<\/p>\n
As Napoleon once said, there can be no authority without
\njustice.<\/p>\n
As for the unexpected statement of the Commission on Human
\nRights, it surely disproves the skepticism which many observers
\nhave accorded it since its foundation. We do believe that some
\nimportant strides have been made lately in the improvement of
\nhuman rights in this country. Let us hope that this new spirit
\nwill also touch all of those entrusted with bringing light to the
\nactual events surrounding Marsinah's death. Certainly we believe
\nthat a simple re-examination of the facts in the case is not too
\nmuch to ask for if the meting out of justice is our concern.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/human-rights-and-justice-1447893297",
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