Kontras report reveals rights abuses worsening<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The country's human rights record worsened in 2001 as the state
\ncontinued to neglect its obligations to promote and protect human
\nrights, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
\nViolence (Kontras) said.<\/p>\n
In its annual report released on Monday, Kontras said that the
\nadministrations of both former president Abdurrahman Wahid,
\nfamiliarly known as Gus Dur, and President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nhad failed to show a commitment to upholding the people's civil
\nand political rights in 2001.<\/p>\n
\"What we see is only a tug-of-war between political interests,
\nbut we have yet to see efforts to strengthen the institutions
\nthat handle human rights issues or the refining of legal
\nmechanisms,\" Kontras coordinator Ori Rahman said during a
\ndiscussion organized in conjunction with the launching of its
\nannual report titled Human Rights in Stagnation: Report on Human
\nRights Conditions in Indonesia in 2001.<\/p>\n
Highlighting the unrestrained human rights abuses in 2001, Ori
\nsaid that the country's rights records was only likely to worsen
\nin 2002 and beyond.<\/p>\n
Kontras noted that efforts to protect victims and to make
\npeople more aware of human rights issues were neglected in 2001,
\nand that both Gus Dur and Megawati had failed to prevent more
\nrights violations.<\/p>\n
\"This is indicated by the appointment of those who were
\nresponsible for many rights abuses to strategic positions in the
\ncountry,\" Kontras said.<\/p>\n
The appointment of A.M. Hendropriyono and Da'i Bachtiar as the
\nNational Intelligence Agency (BIN) and National Police chiefs
\nrespectively has come under fire because of their alleged past
\nhuman rights abuses.<\/p>\n
Hendropriyono has been accused of human rights abuses in
\nLampung in 1989, in what became known as the Talangsari
\nintimidation, while demands have been made for Da'i to account
\nfor the shooting dead of five supporters of Gus Dur in Bondowoso,
\nEast Java, in 2000.<\/p>\n
\"The military and police still have the power to influence the
\nstate's policy with regard to human rights issues,\" Ori said.<\/p>\n
Many past human rights abusers have been left untouched,
\nincluding those responsible for the 1984 mass slaying in Tanjung
\nPriok, North Jakarta; the 1989 intimidation in Talangsari,
\nLampung; the 1998 and 1999 shootings of student activists and
\ncitizens; and the unsolved kidnappings of at least 1,039 people,
\n14 of whom have not been heard from since.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, repressive action against secessionist movements in
\nAceh and Irian Jaya was still ongoing, and the social conflicts
\nin other regions of the country, such as Maluku, Central
\nSulawesi's Poso and Central Kalimantan's Sampit had yet to be
\nresolved.<\/p>\n
Kontras concluded that the latest government-backed peace
\ndeals for Maluku and Poso had failed to change the quality of
\nviolence in those regions, violence that also involved the
\nmilitary.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kontras-report-reveals-rights-abuses-worsening-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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