Freedom comes, freedom goes
Today the world commemorates the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is a milestone document which its authors, learning from two devastating world wars in less than a generation, hoped would ensure everlasting peace and prosperity for all the inhabitants of this planet. The declaration lists the inalienable rights of individuals that should be respected by others, and protected by the laws of the country in which they live.
It is very distressing therefore to learn that Indonesia cannot fully share the joy that will undoubtedly prevail in many other parts of the world in marking this auspicious human rights day. Indonesia has admittedly come a long way from those days when its people lived under the shackles of colonialism. Without belittling the historic significance of the nation's independence in 1945, today is an appropriate occasion for us to contemplate whether we, as a nation, have lived up to the spirit and letter of the 30 articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The current state of this nation is a far cry from that envisages by the authors of the declaration. Indonesia has not even fully subscribed to the declaration. Of the 25 human rights conventions passed by the United Nations in implementing the 1948 document, Indonesia has ratified five, one of which, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, came into effect only two weeks ago. Moreover, their ratification is a mere statement of intent and not binding. In Indonesia, there has been little effort, and even less political will, to uphold many of the points listed in the ratified conventions.
When it comes to the actual observation of human rights in Indonesia, 1998 must go down as one of the most erratic years this country has experienced since independence. The downfall of the repressive New Order regime of president Soeharto in May raised hopes that many individual rights, trampled for more than three decades, would be restored. Yet, the year -- both before May and after -- saw some of the most despicable violations of human rights and most of these were committed by the state.
With the progress in communications technology, some of the violence, like the shooting of student demonstrators in Jakarta last month, took place before the eyes of millions of people watching the drama unfolding live on television. Thanks to the more open atmosphere, we also learned of the horrifying details of military atrocities in Aceh committed over many years that only came to light in the last few months because people were no longer so afraid to talk. The killing, raping and looting in May that went unchecked by the security forces is another big blot on the country's poor record.
Greater public awareness, or even apologies, like the military's for its actions in Aceh, are not comforting enough, unless the perpetrators of those human rights violations are brought to justice and handed the punishments they deserve. Sadly, Indonesia is sorely lacking on this front. The shooting of students at Trisakti University in May, the May riots, the disappearance of students and activists, the atrocities in Aceh, East Timor and Irian Jaya and Black Friday in November are just the top of a long list of human rights violations that have not been resolved in court. Unless justice is upheld, and quickly, public awareness of human rights violations will only lead to greater frustrations, which could blow up violently. Distrustful of the legal system's ability to protect their rights, some people have already shown a preference to fight violence with violence rather than to wait for the legal process to take its course.
Even freedom of expression, and with it press freedom, which has been touted as one of President B.J. Habibie's greatest contributions to the reform era, has come under threat. Terror and intimidation, sometimes institutionalized, are so pervasive that they have instilled a permanent sense of fear among people, including the fear to express themselves. What good is freedom of expression and of association, without freedom from fear?
While there are reasons to be optimistic, the way things are at the moment makes it seem there are more reasons to be pessimistic. This is why it is crucial for Indonesians to fight to ensure that their rights are fully respected and protected. The struggle is far from over. Forcing Soeharto out of power was just the start, not the end, of our endeavor to build a civil society. We learned in 1945, and again in 1966, that you cannot take freedom for granted once you have achieved it. Freedom came, and then it went. It is up to us now to make sure that this time, freedom does not go away again.