'Many law enforcers don't understand human rights'<\/p>\n
SEMARANG, Central Java (JP): Human rights activist Todung
\nMulya Lubis said many law enforcers \"don't understand human
\nrights\" and often take power as the law.<\/p>\n
\"It's a fact that our judicial system is not yet free and
\nindependent, especially when dealing with cases which are
\npolitically laden,\" he told a seminar on human rights here
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
\"The intervention of power holders is still strongly felt
\nhere, and judges often fail to heed the laws and their
\nconscience. Instead, they follow (the wish) of the power
\nholders,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Lubis and several other campaigners speaking at the seminar
\nmade a fresh call on the authorities to re-examine laws and
\nregulations which infringe upon people's basic rights.<\/p>\n
Lubis said that in many cases of human rights violations,
\nlocal authorities often exercise policies which are more
\nrepressive than the laws upon which the policies are based.<\/p>\n
\"Various media reports have shown that many violations
\noccurred because of the inadequate protection (provided) by the
\nCriminal Code,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He cited as examples the reported violations, in the forms of
\nkillings or beatings, in the provinces of Irian Jaya, Aceh and
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
\"There's a deep gap between the setting of human rights
\nstandards, with their enforcement,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also pointed out the numerous laws, either those which were
\nestablished during the Dutch colonial times or those produced
\nafter the 1945 proclamation of independence, which run counter
\nthe principles of human rights.<\/p>\n
He named as examples the haatzaai artikelen, a colonial-era
\nlaw against people found guilty of sowing hatred, and more recent
\nlaws on political parties and on subversive activities.<\/p>\n
\"What's even more saddening is this reluctance among law
\nenforcers to implement the laws because of various political,
\neconomic and cultural reasons,\" he charged.<\/p>\n
He said there is no guarantee that a community which has
\nestablished laws in line with the principles of human rights will
\nalso uphold them.<\/p>\n
\"The ratification of human rights instruments doesn't
\nnecessarily mean that there's respect for human rights,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The seminar was held by the Diponegoro University in
\ncooperation with the National Commission on Human Rights and the
\nnational committee for the 50th independence anniversary.<\/p>\n
It also featured Commission members Muladi, Soetandyo
\nWignyosoebroto and Nurcholish Madjid, and philosopher Franz
\nMagnis-Suseno.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish focused his explanation on the long-standing
\ndebates over the \"universality\" of the concept of human rights
\nversus the \"relativity\" of cultures on which the principles are
\nimplemented.<\/p>\n
The campaign for human rights in most developing countries,
\nincluding Indonesia, has often been hampered by debates over the
\ntwo poles, he said.<\/p>\n
For Indonesia in particular, the drive to encourage people's
\nawareness of human rights can be conducted in the same way it is
\nbeing done for other national programs such as family planning,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Hope<\/p>\n
\"For instance, through reminding Moslems about how Islamic
\nteachings respects human rights,\" he said. \"There's always hope
\nfor us (in campaigning for) human rights here\".<\/p>\n
Magnis-Suseno, who is also a professor at the Driyarkara
\nSchool of Philosophy, said most of the objections against the
\nconcepts and implementation of human rights often come from those
\nin power.<\/p>\n
\"They are the ones who often see human rights as an obstacle
\nto their policies and plans,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He reminded the participants in the discussion, however, that
\n\"human rights are actually a realization of the state-ideology
\nPancasila\". The concept is contained in the second tenet, which
\nstates \"a just and civilized humanity\", of the five-tenet
\nideology, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Concerns about other human beings don't belong only to
\ncertain philosophies or religions,\" he said. \"Recognition of the
\nrights of everybody, every group...is a sign of how deep is the
\nhumanity and solidarity of the relevant communities.\" (har\/swe)<\/p>",
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