Golkar's rejection of rights bill a 'setback'

DEPOK, West Java (JP): Legal expert Todung Mulya Lubis lamented Golkar's recent rejection for a call to establish an Indonesian bill of rights, calling it a setback in democratization.

Todung speculated that it was precisely the fear that the bill, should one be set up, could be used to promote democratization that made Golkar turned down the proposal.

Speaking in a discussion Friday at the University of Indonesia's law school here, Todung said the refusal has raised questions about Golkar's commitment towards human rights promotion.

He said the People's Consultative Assembly should first hold an open and sincere debate on the issue, before deciding whether to set up a special bill of rights.

The National Defense and Security Council, a think-tank chaired by President Soeharto, drew up recently a draft of concept of human rights promotion that it wished to be adopted as a powerful decree of the People's Consultative Assembly.

If passed, the document, already dubbed by some as the Indonesian Bill of Rights, would serve as reference for future legislation.

The dominant Golkar faction at the Assembly, however, rejected the proposal. Instead, its executives said last month that the principle of human rights protection would be included in its own draft of State Policy Guidelines. A separate decree on human rights was, therefore, unnecessary, the politicians argued.

Golkar's rejection was quickly followed by the equally powerful Armed Forces faction at the Assembly. The minority United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party factions have promised to fight for the establishment of a separate decree.

Todung said that if the Assembly eventually rejects a separated decree on human rights, there is still another way for the government to accommodate public aspirations on human rights.

"The government should ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," Todung said.

Todung charged, however, that the government had been unwilling to ratify the covenant because it did not want its human rights record to be monitored by the United Nations.

In 1966, the United Nations endorsed two covenants and one optional protocol on human rights to be ratified by its member countries.

They are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Optional Protocol for the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Another speaker at the discussion was Eggy Sudjana of the Center for Information and Development Studies. He pointed out monopolistic economic practices, regulations that constrict the freedom of the press, and some unfairness in the general elections are factors that have been hampering democratization and human rights promotion. (10)