Review on RI's human rights record<\/p>\n
Indonesia has come under heavy international fire lately over
\nits human rights record. Irawan Abidin takes a look at the issue.
\nThis is the last of two articles.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The outcry in Indonesia over the Dili incident
\nwas echoed by the international community. But even in this case,
\nwhere criticism was clearly warranted, Amnesty's characterization
\nof Indonesia as a rogue regime goes too far.<\/p>\n
On the situation in East Timor, the United States Ambassador
\nto Indonesia during the Carter Administration, Edward Masters,
\nrecently wrote: \"There is no question that Indonesia has made
\nserious mistakes in East Timor. But to vilify Jakarta's policies
\nas ethnic cleansing and call for East Timor's independence is
\nfacile and irresponsible.\"<\/p>\n
One telling example of how Amnesty allows its campaign to
\ncompromise the facts, and therefore the credibility of its
\nreport, is its claim that 200,000 people died as a result of the
\ncivil war in East Timor and its aftermath. Such figures have no
\nfoundation in fact.<\/p>\n
Writing in 1991, respected Australian historian H.W. Arndt
\nsaid: \"[These figures] have their origin in a comparison between
\na pre-1975 census and a survey by the Catholic church made after
\n1975, when much of the population had fled from the fighting into
\nthe hills and could not be enumerated.\"<\/p>\n
Careful examination of the evidence at the time by Sydney
\nMorning Herald journalist Peter Rogers, and others, suggested
\nthat, if allowance is made for the East Timorese who fled to West
\nTimor and later to Australia and Portugal, the total loss of life
\nwas approximately 30,000 -- including some 5,000 deaths during
\nthe civil war, and in its aftermath another 25,000 who may have
\ndied through malnutrition and disease.<\/p>\n
This dramatically lower death toll is supported by a statement
\nmade in 1976 by a leader of East Timor's Provisional Government,
\nFransisco da Cruz. He said that 60,000 people had \"lost their
\nlives and homes,\" including 40,000 or more persons who fled to
\nWest Timor. It is also substantiated by United States Department
\nof State testimony to Congress in early 1977. \"A few thousand,
\nmost of whom would have been fighting men on both sides,\" the
\nagency stated, had been killed during the fighting.<\/p>\n
Such blatant misrepresentation of facts is discouraging,
\nespecially in the light of Indonesia's record and progress on
\nhuman rights. Since 1991, Indonesia has been a member of the UN
\nCommission on Human Rights (UNHCR) and adheres to the Universal
\nDeclaration of Human Rights. It is signatory to the Bangkok
\nDeclaration on human rights and is firmly committed to the
\nProgram of Action agreed during the World Conference on Human
\nRights in Vienna in 1993.<\/p>\n
Recognizing the important role that could be played by
\nnational institutions in the promotion and protection of human
\nrights, Indonesia in 1993 established a National Commission on
\nHuman Rights, the first institution of its kind in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The fledgling commission has already settled scores of claims
\nand has many more under investigation. Indonesia has also
\nsponsored two national human rights workshops, the most recent of
\nwhich was held on Oct. 24-26, 1994. Government and non-government
\nas well as domestic and foreign experts were invited to speak at
\nthese forums, including representatives of the UN Human Rights
\nCenter in Geneva.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has also allowed its human rights situation to be
\nscrutinized by international organizations and observers. In July
\n1994, Indonesia invited a United Nations Special Rapporteur to
\nreview claims of human rights abuses in East Timor. And although
\na full UN report on his findings will not be published until
\n1995, Indonesia was already recognized in March 1994 by the UNHCR
\nfor the \"positive measures\" it had taken to improve human rights.<\/p>\n
In addition, a wide range of official delegations -- including
\nparliamentarians, members of church organizations, journalists
\nand representatives of various human rights organizations -- have
\nbeen permitted to come to observe the situation in East Timor and
\nIndonesia, and to explore means of making further progress on
\nhuman rights.<\/p>\n
When the world turned its attention to Indonesia during the
\nAPEC Meetings last November, it witnessed the dawn of what
\npromises to be a more liberalized system of trade in the Asia
\nPacific. It also had a chance to look closely at a country that
\nhas undergone tremendous economic and social progress during the
\npast 25 years.<\/p>\n
This progress has been characterized by strong and consistent
\neconomic growth, increasing government deregulation, expanding
\ntrade and foreign investment, improvements in health care,
\neducation and massive investment in infrastructure, all of which
\nhave vastly improved the quality of life for millions of
\nIndonesians.<\/p>\n
Since 1967, per capita income has grown from a level of US$50
\nto approximately US$700 today; at the same time, poverty has
\nfallen from 60 percent to 13.7 percent of the population.<\/p>\n
As a developing country, Indonesia attaches the highest
\nimportance to such stability and development. Indeed, one of the
\nmain reasons that democracy in the West is so stable is because
\nit was built on solid economic development.<\/p>\n
People will also see a country founded upon a concept with
\nwhich the West is intimately familiar: cultural pluralism and
\ntolerance. Indonesia is home to over 300 distinct ethnic groups
\nand almost as many languages. The respect of diverse cultures,
\nlanguages and religions is deeply ingrained in the fabric of
\nIndonesian society and in the conduct of government.<\/p>\n
As Indonesia approaches its 50th year as an independent
\nrepublic, it can be proud of its achievements, and look forward
\nto the future with well-founded hope of continued economic and
\npolitical development.<\/p>\n
Without doubt, human rights is an area in which Indonesia will
\nhave to improve if it is to realize the full potential of its
\npeople, the key ingredient in any advanced and self-reliant
\nsociety.<\/p>\n
The record clearly shows that it is already making headway on
\nthis front, and more progress can be expected as Indonesia
\ncontinues its advance towards modernity and prosperity.<\/p>\n
Organizations like Amnesty International can play a
\nconstructive role in this, but they should help advance the cause
\nof human rights in countries like Indonesia instead of engaging
\nin political rhetoric.<\/p>\n
The writer is Director for Information at the Ministry of
\nForeign Affairs. The views expressed in this article are his own,
\nand do not necessarily reflect those of government.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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