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)