A year of unresolved rights abuse cases

A year of unresolved rights abuse cases

By Budiman Moerdijat

JAKARTA (JP): Leading rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman
described 1998 as the year when unresolved cases of violations
were the "most visible dimension" of Indonesia's rights
situation.

To many activists the year may have also been among the most
frustrating as they contended with the fact that revealing rights
violations was by no means a solution nor indeed an insurance
against a repeat. This has also been the year when the rights
activists themselves have had to put their lives and safety on
the line for the cause.

"The unresolved cases are the very symbol of human rights
transgressions," Marzuki said.

The fatal shooting of four students at Trisakti University in
May in Jakarta, the riots in the same month here and in other
cities, the disappearance of students and activists, the
atrocities in Aceh, East Timor and Irian Jaya, and the Black
Friday incident in November -- these are the top of a long list
of human rights violations that have not been resolved in court.

The unresolved cases stood out, Marzuki said, in spite of the
government's commitment and its "rhetoric" in the form of the
National Action Plan for Human Rights launched in June, the human
rights charter that was passed in the Special Session of the
People's Consultative Assembly in November, and the possible
submission of a bill to reinforce the existence of the National
Commission on Human Rights.

The situation was a paradox and a major challenge to the
government's actual commitment, Marzuki said, adding that the
potential for violence remained large given the economic and
political uncertainty here.

The downfall of former president Soeharto in May led to the
revelation of serious human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated
by Armed Forces (ABRI) personnel.

For instance, after years of silence, the Acehnese began
telling the nation in June a horrendous tale of human rights
abuses during a decade-long military operation aimed at quelling
the separatist movement in the westernmost province.

The National Commission on Human Rights, which Marzuki now
chairs, said in August that at least 781 people were killed and
thousands of others suffered during the military operations that
began in 1989.

Aceh Governor Sjamsuddin Mahmud, however, said earlier this
month that the operations had left 1,021 people dead.

The rights body also said that at least 368 people were
tortured and 163 people are still listed as missing. It added
that at least 102 women were raped, and disappearances and extra-
judicial killings had widowed 3,000 women and left between 15,000
and 20,000 children as orphans.

Amid mounting public pressure, ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto
visited Aceh in August and withdrew combat troops deployed from
outside the province. He also apologized for the military's
conduct, which he said had exceeded "acceptable norms".

"ABRI has been trying to project a better image with efforts
to come to terms with past human rights violations but these
efforts have not been matched with concrete actions, that is by
taking their personnel to court and indicting them
appropriately," Marzuki said.

"The case of Prabowo is the prime example and cases of other
incidents that involved members of ABRI have also not been
resolved," added Marzuki.

Former Army Special Forces (Kopassus) Commander Lt. Gen. (ret)
Prabowo Subianto was discharged from the military in August and
two other Kopassus senior officers were released from active duty
for their alleged involvement in the abductions of political and
student activists earlier this year.

Public pressure has also been mounting on Wiranto to put
Soeharto's son-in-law on trial for his involvement in the
kidnappings, but the demand is still unmet.

The independent Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence (Kontras), which has been campaigning for the location
of activists who are still missing, once stated that National
Military Police investigating the abduction of political
activists were "powerless".

"Prabowo may hold the 'trump card'. If he was court
martialled, he could reveal all the facts behind the abductions,
including who gave him the order," M.M. Billah, a member of
Kontras' advisory council, said in August.

"The 'disclosure' could implicate many ABRI generals,
including Prabowo's superiors at the time of the abductions and
thus including the Army chief of staff, the ABRI commander and
the supreme commander (then former president Soeharto)," he said.

"It would also ruin ABRI as a whole. That's why ABRI must have
thought that it was better to discharge Prabowo rather than bring
him before a military court," Billah added.

At the height of the abductions in February, Wiranto and the
current Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security
Feisal Tanjung were respectively the army chief of staff and ABRI
commander.

Marzuki therefore recommended that military personnel who
committed abuses should be brought before a civilian court,
rather than a military tribunal, in order to ensure impartiality.

"We need to review the judicial system to allow members of
ABRI to be tried in a civilian court," Marzuki said.

Human rights groups have said that it is almost impossible for
military judges and prosecutors to act independently because they
bow to their superiors' command.

The rights groups said that independent bodies should be given
the power to investigate military personnel for alleged human
rights violations.

Citing the lengthy legal process toward justice, Marzuki
suggested the alternative of campaigning for justice through
political means.

"The government would have to be firm in taking these
actions ... but ... how strong is the government today?" Marzuki
asked.

He acknowledged a "dramatic change in the atmosphere"
following the handing over of power from Soeharto to B.J.
Habibie.

"The public has begun to have self-confidence in claiming
their rights, but the problem now is to have a political system
capable of managing both their dismay and their aspirations,"
Marzuki said.

As far as public awareness of human rights was concerned,
there was now a growing need for wider public debate, Marzuki
said.