Enough is enough

Enough is enough

The tearful statement of a recently returned political
activist -- kidnapped by a mysterious gang two months ago --
before the National Commission on Human Rights on Monday was too
gruesome to bear for most listeners. After hearing the testimony
of Pius Lustrilanang, the secretary-general of SIAGA, a loose
association of supporters of government critics Megawati
Soekarnoputri and Amien Rais, we conclude that while most of us
can never grasp the logic of his kidnappers, we know that their
heinous activities must be stopped.

Initial fuzzy reports of mysterious disappearances of
political activists beginning last February sent shock waves
through the nation. They brought back reminders of the torture,
kidnappings and deaths of thousands of political enemies of
military regimes in South American countries two decades ago.
There were even some who feared that the dreaded prospect of
officially sanctioned elimination of opposition members could
happen here.

The frightened public found little solace when the Armed
Forces (ABRI) appeared to wash its hands of the fate of the
missing people by stating it was not involved in their
disappearances. This attitude was seen by some, rightly or
wrongly, as a defensive stance and a tacit condoning of the
actions of those who rob people of their freedom and use force to
emasculate criticism of the government.

ABRI spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdul Wahab Mokodongan, speaking
last week after hearing that another missing activist had
returned home, said the military had no intention of questioning
the man. He added the public was free to prove that ABRI had
nothing to do with the disappearance.

Despite this, Marzuki Darusman, the deputy chairman of the
National Commission on Human Rights, expressed his belief last
week that the military and police were linked to the
disappearances.

Meanwhile, the police declared it had no intention of
explaining how student activist Andi Arief, kidnapped in Lampung,
southern Sumatra, on March 28, turned up in detention at the
National Police headquarters in Jakarta last week. Andi was an
activist of the outlawed Democratic People's Party (PRD).

The waters were muddied further when police in Lampung said
they knew nothing about his disappearance. The police are now
questioning Andi, but this focuses on his alleged involvement in
a bombing case, not how he was kidnapped. These facts have
confused us further.

The question now centers on whether the official passivity on
resolving the mysterious disappearances is because they are
nothing new to us. Early last decade, there was a spate of
murders of suspected criminals here.

The veil was lifted on the mystery when President Soeharto
disclosed in his authorized autobiography, Soeharto: Pikiran,
Tindakan dan Ucapan Saya (Soeharto: My Thoughts, Sayings and
Deeds), that the government had resorted to the measure "because
the criminals had acted beyond any sense of humanity".

There are also the missing from East Timor following a fatal
clash between troops and demonstrators in 1992, and after a riot
in Tanjung Priok in Jakarta in 1984.

But the legacy of these bitter experiences is not the sole
reasons why we should stop the current brutality. It is not
merely because the kidnappers have humiliated the founding
fathers of this nation, who aspired for us to be a law-abiding
people, but also that times have changed. The government and the
people are more determined to respect basic rights, and
international reactions to the reports are voiced much louder.
The world system also enables the relatives of kidnap victims,
wherever they are, to file suit against governments accused of
violations of human rights.

The great challenge for ABRI now is to uncover the details of
the mysterious disappearances and bring those responsible to
justice.