About human rights

About human rights

In this age of globalization there seems to be a growing
tendency on the part of foreign countries -- especially those
that extend aid to others -- to know what is happening in the
other countries. A similar trend can also be observed among non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) around the globe.

The latest example of this is a statement released by the New
York-based Human Rights Watch/Asia yesterday, accusing Indonesia
of cracking down on NGOs and on the press ahead of next month's
APEC meeting here. The organization called on the participants of
the scheduled meeting "to tell the Indonesian hosts that rule of
law would be far preferable to one of enforced tranquility,
purchased at the price of intimidation, harassment, press bans
etc."

This tendency -- especially with respect to the observance of
human rights -- has understandably made many developing
countries uneasy, because, as they see it, the respect of human
rights is inseparable from the protection of other rights in
their respective societies. For this reason, merely looking at a
country's "human rights record" could produce a biased, or at
least an unbalanced picture of the overall situation.

Such a lopsided evaluation may look even more awkward in light
of the fact that in many industrially advanced countries the
implementation of human rights is related to many other
principles. The truth is that it is not only the developing
countries that have to consider the existence of many other
related principles, but also the industrialized nations.

To illustrate, even the United States' President Bill Clinton
has demonstrated his "understanding" of China's human rights
situation, which the U.S. government attacked frequently in the
not so distant past. Now, under the principle that trade comes
first and human rights in China later, Washington continues to
boost its trade with Beijing without making any further fuss
about reported human rights abuses.

It is in this perspective, we believe, that we should
understand President Soeharto's comment at the human rights
workshop here yesterday. He said that, for Indonesia, human
rights are not only a part of this country's legal or political
program, but a universal manifestation of the belief in God
Almighty. This view implies that a discussion of basic rights
must include all the efforts that we make to improve the dignity
of mankind and to enhance the rights and responsibilities of all
citizens.

All this, however, could mean that other countries and non-
governmental watchdog bodies may find it hard to properly view
the Indonesian human rights situation in a proper perspective as
long as they fail to understand what basic rights are involved.

But the important question is whether the Indonesian concept
is workable in the era of globalization on this shrinking planet
earth? Unlikely as it may seem, the answer seems to give reason
for optimism. Soeharto in his address guaranteed that Indonesia
would be open to any beneficial values coming from the outside.

The next relevant question probably is, do foreign countries
and organizations have the right to evaluate Indonesia's human
rights record? In the words of Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali
Alatas yesterday the only organizations that have the right to do
so are those that are affiliated with the United Nations. He said
other parties should only do so as long as they do it objectively
and with a sense of balance.

So, the problem should be clear.