Criticism from a friend

Criticism from a friend

The latest annual report on human rights surveys by the U.S.
State Department does not look too kindly on Indonesia's record
for the past year. But the report does not differ all that much
from those by some of our own respected human rights groups.
Many, if not all, the violations the State Department claims were
committed by Indonesian authorities, have, at one time or
another, been reported by the National Commission on Human
Rights, the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute and
the Foundation for the Center for the Study of Human Rights.

That these allegations have come from a foreign government
could easily invite the standard official response that it is
meddling in Indonesia's domestic affairs. But these allegations
exist, and with or without the State Department's reminder, they
should still be looked at and addressed.

Although the State Department has made similar reports on the
human rights situation in Indonesia over the past year, this time
the situation has changed. There are signals that Washington, in
its relations with other countries, will be more assertive in
pressing for basic human rights to be respected. President Bill
Clinton, now free from reelection worries, is expected to stand
firm when it comes to human rights principles. His new Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright has made it clear human rights will
be a hallmark of the administration's foreign policy. Although
she says overall U.S. relations with another country will not be
held hostage by a single issue, we can be sure that human rights
questions will be even more pronounced in the bilateral relations
between Indonesia and the United States. Already, news dispatches
from Washington indicate that Assistant Secretary of State for
human rights affairs John Shattuck is planning to visit Indonesia
in the coming weeks.

There have also been growing pressures from the U.S. congress
for a more active Washington role on the question of East Timor.
It is just as well Albright has served as an ambassador at the
United Nations and is therefore familiar with the current UN
mediation efforts to settle the East Timor question. She has
ruled out a Washington role, at least for now, but if congress
pressure keeps up, Indonesia must anticipate a change in the U.S.
position. Pressures also come from some states. Massachusetts'
lawmakers are reportedly considering a selective purchasing bill
to deny contracts to firms doing business in Indonesia.

All in all, we should take criticism from the United States as
an additional inducement to step up our current efforts to
improve our human rights record. After all, we are talking about
universal basic rights, that cannot be deprived under any
pretext, such as local cultures and conditions.

That a foreign country as powerful as the United States and
also one of Indonesia's major trading partners, has expressed
concern is all the more reason for us to do something. The energy
and attention usually expended in denying or countering such
criticism -- the United States's record is not all that spotless
-- would be more productively used acknowledging we have these
problems and addressing them. The best response to the
State Department's report -- which also acknowledges progress in
some areas -- is to take it as criticism from a friend.