ABRI and human rights
At last the long awaited step has been taken. The formation of a Military Honor Council was announced yesterday (Tuesday) by Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto. This demonstrates that ABRI is sincere in its promise to thoroughly investigate the abduction of political activists and bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.
Indeed for ABRI there is no other choice. The abductions have not only tarnished the image of the Armed Forces, but of the Indonesian nation as whole. For this reason the case must be resolved in an open, honest and thorough manner.
The Military Honor Council must also be given the authority to explore whether the abductions were carried out on the initiative of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) alone, or whether they were at the behest of some higher power. This is important because generally human rights violations committed by our security forces have all displayed a common characteristic, namely the intention to resolve existing problems by the use of force.
We hope that recent indications of a willingness on the part of the authorities to settle outstanding cases of human rights abuse will be carried to its logical conclusion, and not left half finished. Allegations of gross human rights abuse surround cases centering on Tanjung Priok, Lampung and Aceh. All these cases display the same penchant for solving problems with the use of force.
In Aceh, for example, media reports, non-governmental organizations and eyewitness accounts all point to a human tragedy having taken place between 1986 and 1993. More than 1,600 people have been reported missing. People were accused of belonging to outlawed bands of insurgents then dealt with without any recourse to the law of this land. Many of these people were later found dead, both men and women.
The Aceh, Lampung and Tanjung Priok allegations must therefore be thoroughly investigated by a court. We are confident that ABRI will settle all these outstanding cases of human rights abuse in order to uphold the principles of humanitarianism and justice, and to try to reestablish itself as an institution worthy of our trust.
-- Republika, Jakarta