Defensiveness is no defense

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.