Free them all
Free them all
A job half done is a job undone. Debatable as such a statement
may be to some, many people would agree that this holds true in
the case of the release of political prisoners in Indonesia.
Of the hundreds of prisoners of conscience who have been
languishing for months or years in prisons across this country,
two of the most prominent among them -- university lecturer and
dissenting politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas and independent labor
leader Muchtar Pakpahan -- were released earlier this week and
are now back in the forefront of the reform movement.
Amid the current demands for total reform and the correction
of the wrongs and injustices done under the recently departed
regime, the release of these opposition leaders has naturally
been greeted by the public as one of the most significant so far.
The release of the two, however, is not enough. Unless the
government follows up their release and honors its promise to
free more prisoners, and fast, an impression could easily arise
that Bintang's and Pakpahan's release was no more than a cosmetic
step aimed at assuring Indonesians and the world that things have
changed in Indonesia.
Indeed, given the current climate of total reform, even the
promise of more releases in the coming weeks -- with the
condition that those freed were not involved in the 1965
communist coup and still show a faithful adherence to the
Pancasila national ideology and the Constitution -- may not
satisfy the multitudes of Indonesians seeking to correct the
wrongs of Soeharto's New Order regime.
In a true democracy where the basic rights of citizens is
respected and imprisonment for purely political or ideological
reasons is unacceptable, no one should be imprisoned for holding
and expressing views that differ from those in power. The calls
by the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation and the Indonesian Legal
Aid and Human Rights Association for the government release all
political prisoners indiscriminately and unconditionally must be
seen in this light.
Important as these considerations may be, much more than the
issue of basic rights is involved in these calls. For one thing,
Indonesia urgently needs to improve its image if it is to draw
world sympathy to its side to overcome the economic crisis.
An unconditional release of political prisoners would
certainly do much to restore this country's poor human rights
reputation, tattered further in the past months by reported
abductions and torture of student and political activists, the
forceful repression of peaceful demonstrations and the fatal
shootings of students in Jakarta.
Of no less importance is the fact that the government needs
the full support of all Indonesians if it is to conquer this
country's protracted crisis. Now is the time for the government
to start working toward a national reconciliation involving all
segments of society. For this purpose, we can imagine no better
gesture than the indiscriminate and unconditional release of all
political prisoners.
Regarding Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao: The government may
find it worthwhile -- if only for practical reasons -- to
consider the release of the East Timorese leader as well.
Although political courage may be needed, Xanana's release would
certainly lift the new government's standing abroad
significantly. Indeed, the longer Xanana stays in prison, the
greater his international stature seems to become. Should the
government feel uncomfortable with the idea of having Xanana walk
free on Indonesian soil, it could always ask a friendly country
-- Australia or South Africa, perhaps -- to accept the East
Timorese leader.
The issue of political prisoners, Xanana included, has long
been a thorn in Indonesia's side. It is time that we resolve this
problem once and for all.