Activist set to testify before U.S. Congress today
Activist set to testify before U.S. Congress today
JAKARTA (JP): Political activist Pius Lustrilanang, who has
fled Indonesia in search of safety, is scheduled today to testify
before a U.S. Congressional subcommittee concerning his
abduction, his lawyer said here yesterday.
In a statement made available to the media, the Indonesian
Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) said Pius, 30,
would testify before the subcommittee on international operations
and human rights.
The statement, signed by PBHI deputy director Paskah Irianto,
said the hearing would be held in the Rayburn House Office
Building in Washington.
PBHI said Pius received the invitation, dated May 1, earlier
this week from the subcommittee's chairman, Representative
Christopher H. Smith.
"Regarding human rights protection and promotion in Indonesia,
Pius has confirmed that he will testify before the subcommittee,"
the PBHI statement said.
Pius, secretary-general of a loose association of supporters
of government critics Megawati Soekarnoputri and Amien Rais, was
scheduled to arrive in Washington yesterday.
PBHI said Pius' previous schedule to meet with leaders and
human rights groups in Paris, London, Ireland, Belgium and Bonn
had to be rescheduled.
Pius' visit to the United States is sponsored by the New York-
based Human Rights Watch, the Robert Kennedy Memorial Center and
the Indonesian community in the United States.
PBHI said the quick response from the United States and the
international community indicated the seriousness of the
disappearance cases.
The statement added that the world attention had reaffirmed
that human rights promotion and protection had become a global
concern, instead of a mere domestic affair.
PBHI, therefore, urged the government and the military to
thoroughly investigate the disappearance cases.
A number of student and political activists known to be very
critical of the government went missing in recent months
following student antigovernment rallies staged almost daily
across the archipelago.
Nine of the 14 people reported missing have been "found". But
only Pius has gone public with an account of his experience,
which included torture at the hands of an unknown group.
Pius flew to the Netherlands April 27, saying that his
abductors had threatened to kill him if he spoke out about what
had happened.
The National Commission on Human Rights said last week that
the student and political activists who went missing were
abducted by a well-organized group.
The commission also said there was now growing public
perception that the state security apparatus may have been
involved.
Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto, however, has
denied any such allegations, saying that there had never been any
instruction or policy in ABRI to abduct people.
Wiranto said last week that ABRI had set up a team to
investigate the cases of missing people and determine whether any
members of the military were involved. (byg)