Defensiveness is no defense

In today's Indonesia, which is moving rapidly to redress the long-standing problem of corruption and bring to justice those involved in human rights abuses, many find themselves in a state of bewilderment.

Indeed, the reactions of people are a remarkable, unpredictable facet of the tumultuous situation. Look no further than the military leaders who have taken umbrage at being called to task for the abuses of the past.

We have heard the clamorous uproar, especially when the government-sanctioned Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations in East Timor was set to question Army generals concerning the campaign of terror and destruction following the August ballot in which the majority of East Timorese rejected autonomy within Indonesia.

The commission found indications that the generals, including former military commander Gen. Wiranto, were involved in or had prior knowledge of the campaign of violence. It should be noted that the commission was set up to prevent the embarrassing situation of Indonesian generals being hauled before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

For many ordinary, law-abiding Indonesians, there is nothing unusual about the prospect of being summoned for questioning by a law-enforcement agency. But for those who have a long tradition of standing above the law, and even treading on its fundamental tenets, being summoned for questioning is a supreme comedown.

That has been the reaction of the Army generals, along with their supporters who know a lucrative cause when they see it. Not surprisingly, they have reacted with defensiveness and indignation to the commission's summons. In a blatant bid to curry support, they have accused the commission of being contaminated with the "virus" of Western-influenced human rights concepts, an anathema to their "healthy" sense of nationalism. Some of the active Army leaders even hinted that there was an international and national conspiracy to push the Indonesian Military into a corner. But they have found that reverting to a narrow sense of nationalism is becoming an increasingly difficult sell in a public hungry for the truth.

Outside the cloistered world of the military barracks, Indonesians have long known that respect for human rights is an international value and that its violators have to be brought to justice for their crimes against humanity. Indonesians are rightfully proud that their founding fathers were so mindful to include this precious concept -- locally called pri-kemanusian yang adil dan beradab (just and civilized humanitarianism) -- in the 1945 Constitution.

The trouble with our generals is that they were the protectors of an autocratic and kleptomaniac regime which gave them free license to do as they wished, including committing human rights abuses, to keep the despotic supreme commander in power.

Their defensive reaction to the commission's inquiries fits into a pattern of refusal to be held accountable. It dates back to the grisly rape-murder of woman labor activist Marsinah in East Java in 1993, and includes the cowardly shootings of student demonstrators in Jakarta in 1998 and 1999. Sooner or later, however, the generals will have to face the sobering reality that times have changed, and for the better.