Rights body finds flaws in party office takeover<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights
\ncontinued yesterday with their effort to investigate possible
\nhuman rights violations committed during the forced takeover of
\nthe Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters recently.<\/p>\n
Four commission members visited the headquarters and found
\n\"irregularities\" which they said should be investigated further.
\nFor instance, they detected a sharp acid smell and found newly
\napplied putty in the damaged rooms.<\/p>\n
\"The way the headquarters was ransacked and the acid smell
\nindicated an irregular condition. We'll collect all these facts,
\nanalyze them and incorporate them into our report,\" commission
\nsecretary-general Baharuddin Lopa said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Accompanied by Soegiri, Clementino Dos Reis Amaral and Albert
\nHasibuan, Lopa also visited some of the buildings that were
\ndamaged and burned during the July 27 rioting, which erupted
\nfollowing the takeover.<\/p>\n
One of the lingering problems left from the rioting that the
\ngovernment blamed on the Democratic People's Party, was the
\nquestion of missing people and those still detained at police
\ndetention centers.<\/p>\n
There have been varying accounts on the number of people
\nmissing, with the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation putting the
\nfigure at 22. The legal aid office had earlier lamented that
\naccess to hospitals was blocked, which prevented them from
\nverifying reports about people reportedly injured or killed
\nduring the rioting.<\/p>\n
Sandyawan Sumardi of a non-governmental organization, the
\nJakarta Social Institute, told The Jakarta Post that the search
\nhas been extremely difficult.<\/p>\n
\"Though we told officers the places where victims would be
\nlogically placed and that we were working with the National
\nCommission on Human Rights, we still don't receive any
\nassistance,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Three agencies -- the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, the
\nJakarta Social Institute and the National Commission on Human
\nRights -- have formed a fact finding committee.<\/p>\n
Besides, \"Many people don't dare report a family member as
\nmissing because they have been threatened and spied on,\"
\nSandyawan alleged.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mangara Siahaan, a member of the ousted PDI
\nexecutive board under Megawati Soekarnoputri, was upbeat about
\nthe detained persons at the city police detention center.<\/p>\n
\"Experience has shown that detained people will be released
\nsoon,\" he assured worried people crowding the entrance of the
\ncity police detention center in search of their missing
\nrelatives.<\/p>\n
He said PDI's latest figures on its missing members was 50
\npeople.<\/p>\n
The detention center is currently holding at least 240
\npersons, around half of which are those rounded up during the
\nJuly 27 riots. Officers said that although the detention center
\ncan hold up to 300 persons, the visitors' area was too small to
\nhold the unusually large number of visitors.<\/p>\n
While waiting for his turn to visit the detainees, Mangara
\ntried to answer questions from their worried relatives. Theresia,
\nasking about her younger brother Hendriko from the PDI East
\nJakarta branch, was told that since he had a PDI membership card,
\nhe would likely be soon released.<\/p>\n
\"Remain convinced that your brother is not a thief or a
\ncriminal,\" Mangara said.<\/p>\n
\"I will also be questioned by the police,\" he said, adding
\nthat officially unrecognized party chairwoman Megawati will also
\ncome for questioning today and try to visit the detainees.
\n(imn\/14\/anr\/swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rights-body-finds-flaws-in-party-office-takeover-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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