Komnas HAM members to undergo House screening<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Eight members of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas
\nHAM) agreed on Tuesday to undergo a fit-and-proper test by the
\nHouse of Representatives (DPR) to endorse their membership.<\/p>\n
Komnas HAM secretary-general Asmara Nababan told a media
\nconference that eight Komnas HAM members confirmed their
\nreadiness to undergo the test during a closed plenary meeting on
\nTuesday, while five opted to drop their memberships for various
\nreasons. The remaining four, who were absent from the meeting,
\nhave yet to make public their stance.<\/p>\n
Asmara said the decision was taken to avoid further disputes
\nwith the House over their membership, which could stir public
\nopinion that the current members had vested interests.<\/p>\n
"There have been several hearings with the House over the
\nmembership issue. We don't want to prolong the problem since the
\nscreening of 34 candidates is expected to be completed before the
\nHouse's plenary meeting on July 1," Asmara said.<\/p>\n
Komnas HAM members agreeing to undergo the test and would
\ntherefore submit their names to the House before the June 7
\ndeadline are H.S. Dillon, Samsudin, Saafroedin Bahar,
\nSoelistyowati Soegondo, Bambang W. Soeharto, B.N. Marbun and
\nAisyah Amini and Djoko Soegianto.<\/p>\n
Asmara, along with vice chairwoman Saparinah Sadli, Mohammad
\nSalim, Soetandyo Wignjosoebroto and Soegiri, chose to drop their
\nmemberships in the commission, which was set up in 1999.<\/p>\n
Members Albert Hasibuan, Koesparmono Irsan, Satjipto Rahardjo
\nand Emil Salim have not yet announced their position.<\/p>\n
Soetandyo said that in his 70 years of age, travel from
\nSurabaya to Jakarta had become a major problem, while Asmara said
\nthat the large amount of members was not effective since the
\nideal number was between seven and 25.<\/p>\n
Chairman Djoko Soegianto said that he had a moral obligation
\nto help new members to ensure that the commission runs well and
\nthat cases the commission had started investigating would be
\nresolved.<\/p>\n
The 1999 Law on human rights stipulates that the commission's
\n35 members should pass the House's selection process and for
\ncurrent members, that would have come due in Sept. 2001.<\/p>\n
The members, who were picked by the government, earlier
\nrefused to undergo a House screening, insisting that their tenure
\nwould end in 2003.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Komnas HAM members appealed to President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri on Tuesday to pay heed to the murder of Papuan
\nfigure Theys Hiyo Eluay and monitor the latest results of the
\ninvestigation carried out by the Indonesian Military (TNI)
\nPolice.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/komnas-ham-members-to-undergo-house-screening-1447893297",
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