Government urged to ratify agreement against torture

Government urged to ratify agreement against torture

JAKARTA (JP): A local human rights institute is lobbying the
government to ratify an international agreement against torture
and other forms of cruelty.

Activists of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy
said yesterday that the government should take both political and
legal actions to stop violent treatment on the part of public
officials.

The institute is urging the government to promptly ratify the
International Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, which it signed on Oct.
23, 1985.

Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, executive director of the
institute, told journalists that cruelty, violent treatment and
degrading punishments by officials are still rife in Indonesia.

The institute, which has conducted investigations into such
practices in various provinces, has brought out a comprehensive
report in support of its call for the ratification of the
convention.

Citing one example, Abdul Hakim said that 11 suspected rebels
in Irian Jaya were killed by Indonesian troops last May and that,
last December, about 20 people were tortured after refusing to
sign a statement on their involvement in rebellious activities.

The institute is also asking the government to incorporate
into Indonesian law the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement
Officials, which was agreed upon by a General Assembly of the
United Nations on Dec. 17, 1979.

Abdul Hakim said the Indonesian Criminal Code need to be
revised to include penalties for law enforcers who torture
suspects during interrogations.

The government should systematically improve interrogation
methods, arrest procedures and the treatment of people who are
incarcerated, the institute said.

The institute has urged members of the National Commission on
Human Rights to conduct an objective investigation into the
alleged killing by security officers of 17 people in Timika,
Irian Jaya, between last December and May this year and to
publicly announce its findings.

The commission dispatched four of its members to investigate
the spate of incidents reported in Timika since last year.

Abdul Hakim said the commission should use its weight to
pressure the government to stop violent actions against people in
Irian Jaya and elsewhere.

The institute released yesterday a report on unresolved cases
of degrading treatment and punishment by officials in various
provinces. According to the report, such abuses occurred in Aceh,
North Sumatra, East Java, Central Java and East Timor.

Non-government organizations, both national and international,
should be allowed to monitor human rights conditions in the
country, the institute says.

It has asked the government to provide full authority to the
National Commission of Human Rights to investigate gross
violations of human rights and to interrogate officials suspected
of violating human rights.(05)