Missing activists file 'still unopened'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Marzuki Darusman of the National Commission on
\nHuman Rights urged police yesterday to probe the disappearance of
\ntwo non-governmental organization activists early last month.<\/p>\n
Marzuki, deputy chairman of the commission, said officers
\nshould have taken action as soon as they received reports from
\nthe Jakarta Legal Aid Institute and the Indonesian Legal Aid and
\nHuman Rights Association (PBHI).<\/p>\n
\"They could have moved based on those reports.\"<\/p>\n
Fransisca Sri Haryatni, the mother of Pius Lustrilanang, an
\nactivist of Siaga -- a loose association which supports self-
\nstyled presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri and
\ngovernment critic Amien Rais -- went to the commission yesterday
\nto ask about the whereabouts of her son. Pius was reported
\nmissing on Feb. 4.<\/p>\n
Another activist, Desmond J. Mahesa, a director of the
\nNusantara Legal Aid Foundation, was also reported missing on Feb.
\n3, a day after he was visited by military intelligence agents,
\naccording to his associates.<\/p>\n
Sri said that she only knew about the disappearance of her son
\nthrough the media before being contacted by Pius' friends on Feb.
\n11.<\/p>\n
\"I just want to know whether my son is still alive; where he
\nis now or if he is already dead I want to pray for his soul.\"<\/p>\n
She said that Pius last contacted his family a week before
\nbeing reported missing.<\/p>\n
Sri, who arrived here from Palembang Sunday night, was
\naccompanied yesterday by her lawyer from LBH Jakarta, Daniel
\nPanjaitan, and her son's friends.<\/p>\n
Soegiri, a member of the human rights commission who received
\nSri, said the commission would send another letter to the Jakarta
\nand West Java police and the Jakarta and West Java Siliwangi
\nmilitary commands.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the commission would repeatedly send the letter
\nif the authorities did not respond, Soegiri said: \"We have
\ncountless tasks, so we cannot just concentrate on one problem.
\nAnd we cannot constantly send them letters, it would be far too
\nmuch.\"<\/p>\n
The commission sent the authorities letters on Feb. 12 and
\nMarch 5, he said.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said the disappearance of the two activists was
\nunusual and it was probably linked to recent social unrest.<\/p>\n
\"It should not merely be regarded as a political incident
\nbecause they were trying to make improvements to the social
\nstructure.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that the authority will not only include them in a
\nlist of missing people for the sake of statistical notes like the
\nvictims of traffic accidents but they should go further and
\ninvestigate the disappearance.\" (ind)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/missing-activists-file-still-unopened-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}