'ABRI not the sole violator of human rights'
'ABRI not the sole violator of human rights'
JAKARTA (JP): Despite being a target of frequent foreign criticism, the Armed Forces (ABRI) is not the worse rights violator in Indonesia, say members of the National Commission on Human Rights.
Commission members Muladi and Miriam Budiardjo told journalists here Saturday that while ABRI has committed a number of gross violations, it is not the only party that has failed to uphold human rights.
"I think that (the violations ABRI has committed) are only a small part of the overall violations," said Muladi.
Muladi, who is also a rector at Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, said that violators also came from other sections of society.
Miriam said that among the many infractions reported and studied by the Commission, a number of them were committed by non-military officials.
"However, it is the violations committed by state officials which gain the foreign spotlight," she said.
In 1991, army officers were found responsible for the deaths of over 50 demonstrators during a demonstration in Dili, East Timor. This August, a number of officers were implicated in the deaths of 16 civilians in Timika, Irian Jaya.
Despite the military's various violations, Miriam said, respect and efforts to protect people's rights exist within ABRI's high command.
"From our meetings with the top brass, we have found that there is an awareness (of human rights)," said Miriam, who is one of the country's most respected political scientists.
"The problem is with the men in the field who still lack awareness," she added.
Muladi, known as a vocal critic of the government, also felt that violations were often conducted by men on the field without the knowledge of their superiors.
"Their (ABRI's) involvement is not structural, but individual," he said.
Both Muladi and Miriam agreed that efforts to heighten awareness of human rights would take time, perhaps another generation.
Miriam said the Human Rights Commission is planning to issue pamphlets, as part of its human rights awareness campaign, to police officers and the general public.
Commission member B.N. Marbun said yesterday that the difficulty lies in a lack of common understanding of human rights concepts.
For that purpose, he suggested that human rights education and dissemination be maximized by making reading materials on the issue more accessible.
Seminar
The Commission announced on Saturday that it would hold a national seminar on human rights in Semarang, Central Java, on Dec. 10-11.
Marbun, who is also a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party faction, said one of the main aims of the seminar would be to forge a common perception of human rights.
Some 300 participants are expected to attend the seminar from state, military, academic and non-government institutions.
Keynote speakers will be Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono and the head of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Malaysian Datuk Musa Hitam.
Speakers and commentators will include Nurcholish Madjid, Baharuddin Lopa, Abdul Hakim G. Nusantara, T. Mulya Lubis, Franz Magnis Soeseno and Loekman Soetrisno.
The four main topics prepared for the two-day seminar are recognition of human rights in Indonesian law, human rights in the Indonesian sociocultural and religious context, economic rights and the work of the National Commission on Human Rights 1993-1995.
Marbun said the results of the seminar will be published in a book, which he said is part of the plan to educate people on the question of rights.
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on his candidacy as an alternate member of the UN's Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities, Muladi said he welcomed the idea.
"It's an absorbing job," he said.
Indonesia is presenting rights campaigner Charles Himawan as a member and Muladi as an alternate to sit on the UN Sub- Commission.
Muladi is currently a member of the UN Committee on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. (mds)