ABRI has better understanding on rights: Amaral
ABRI has better understanding on rights: Amaral
JAKARTA (JP): Human rights campaigner Clementino Dos Reis
Amaral has praised the Armed Forces' (ABRI) improved awareness of
human rights, citing how the military had sought discussions to
settle disputes involving its officials.
"The Armed Forces headquarters has requested a bi-monthly
meeting with the National Commission on Human Rights to discuss
human rights violation issues," Amaral said yesterday as quoted
by Antara.
Amaral is a member of the 25-strong commission.
The meeting every second month between the rights commission
and the military circle was initiated by the late coordinating
minister for political affairs and security Gen. (ret) Soesilo
Soedarman mid last year.
Amaral said similar meetings had also been held at lower
levels, including with regional and district military commanders
as well as police headquarters.
"In other words, it shows the Indonesian government's
seriousness in improving human rights protection in the country,"
he said.
He said the government's seriousness could be seen by its
commitment to include the subject of human rights principles in
the curriculum of the Armed Forces' Staff and Command School, and
similar staff and command schools in each of the four military
corps -- the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the National
Police.
The human rights activist said the military's improved
awareness of human rights would be discussed in the annual
meeting of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Commission in
Geneva, Switzerland, next Saturday.
"I think we need to upgrade the UN rights commission's
perception on the human rights situation in Indonesia," he said.
Amaral said the Armed Forces had long been accused of active
involvement in most cases of human rights violations in
Indonesia.
He said three Indonesian rights commissioners, including
himself, would attend the UN Human Rights Commission's annual
meeting, which is scheduled for April 4 to April 10. The other
two rights commissioners are Marzuki Darusman and Asmara Nababan.
He said the Indonesian rights commission delegation would
prepare a report on local human rights issues including on rights
violations by security officials.
"We will also prepare a paper on the improvement of human
rights protection in East Timor," he said.
Another human rights commission member, B.N. Marbun, said
separately in Dili, East Timor, that Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe
Ximenes Belo had been very helpful to the rights commission's
mission in the former Portuguese colony.
"Bishop Belo has always been willing to help monitor human
rights protection in the province," Marbun said after a meeting
with Belo on Sunday.
"Bishop Belo also has accurate data on every rights violation.
That really helps our (rights commission) job," he said. (imn)