Catholic priest named winner of human rights award

Catholic priest named winner of human rights award

JAKARTA (JP): Ignatius Sandyawan Sumardi, a Catholic priest
recently in trouble for sheltering youth activists being hunted
down by security officers, has been named winner of the
prestigious Yap Thiam Hien human rights award.

Sandyawan, better known as Romo (Father) Sandy, will receive
the award on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day, members of
the Center for Human Rights Studies (Yapusham) announced
yesterday.

The center's executive director, human rights activist Todung
Mulya Lubis, said the panel of judges had a tough time picking
Sandy from among five well-deserving nominees.

Mulya declined to name the other four nominees.

"It was not an easy choice. But after going through a tough
deliberation, the selection panel finally made a unanimous
decision over this year's recipient," said Mulya at the News Cafe
on Jalan Rasuna Said, South Jakarta.

With Mulya was one of the five-members of the selection panel,
Mardjono Reksodiputro who said Sandyawan was chosen because of
his "solid commitment to the protection of human rights."

He said Sandyawan has shown his commitment by working to help
street children, labors, and the homeless.

The other panel members were Moslem scholar Abdurrahman Wahid,
lawyer Amartiwi Saleh, legal expert Maria S.W. Sumardjono and
social worker cum scholar Y.B. Mangunwijaya.

"He risked his own safety to protect the victims of the July
27 riots and those whose lives were in danger at that time,"
Mardjono said.

Mulya said Sandyawan knew that helping people who were scared
by the military's shoot-on-the-spot order was risky, but he had
not let fear override his commitment.

Sandyawan, 38, works with the Jakarta Social Institute, a non-
governmental organization which actively helps street children,
laborers, and poor people caught in land disputes.

"His dedication to helping anybody regardless of their
religion is a testimony of his strong commitment to humanity,"
Mulya said.

The award, named after a late prominent Indonesian human
rights activist and lawyer, was first issued in 1992. Previous
recipients include human rights activists H.J.C. Princen and Ade
Rostina Sitompul, labor activist Marsinah, lawyer Trimoelja D.
Soerjadi and the farmers of the Jenggawah village in Jember
regency.

Sandyawan had admitted to harboring the leader of the
Democratic People's Party (PRD), Budiman Soedjatmiko, and other
PRD activists. He said the youths had come to him for help
because they feared the military would shoot them.

Budiman and his friends are currently being detained and will
soon be tried for allegedly masterminding the July 27 riots in
Jakarta which killed five people, injured more than 100 and left
23 people still missing.

The youths were arrested on Aug. 11 at a house in Bekasi owned
by Sandyawan's brother, Benny Sumardi. (08)