Govt pays insufficient attention to human rights

Govt pays insufficient attention to human rights

As the world community prepared to commemorate International
Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, human rights activist Todung Mulya
Lubis shared on Thursday his observations on the advancement of
human rights in the country over the past year with The Jakarta
Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat.
Question: How do you rate the promotion and protection of
human rights under President Susilo's administration?

Anwer: The game the government is playing is hunting down big
embezzlers. Our main agenda, or the central issue, is the war on
corruption, causing the government to pay less attention to human
rights issues. There are no concerted measures to settle gross
human right abuses. I'm disappointed with the Attorney General's
Office and the court, which are busy trying only corruption cases
and with the print media, which has given more space to issues on
terrorism, corruption and the implementation of the memorandum of
understanding in Aceh.

Could you give examples of the challenges facing the human
rights movement in Indonesia?

The government has not yet carried out a thorough
investigation into the premeditated assassination of human rights
campaigner Munir, nor the shooting of three female Christian
students in Poso. Indonesia's image has been tarnished by the
acquittal of a police official who is believed to be involved in
the Abepura shooting case and by the unresolved human rights
abuses during the Trisakti and Semanggi tragedies. The government
has remained silent on the controversial trial of human rights
perpetrators in East Timor. No human rights perpetrators in the
cases have been sent to jail. So far, no trials have been
conducted to bring to justice human rights perpetrators in Aceh
and Papua.

President Susilo must fulfill the pledge he made during his
presidential campaign last year to investigate thoroughly human
rights abuses. To repair Indonesia's tarnished image in the
international community, all the unresolved human rights abuses
must be brought to court.

The trial of gross human right abuses will never make up for
the suffering of victims and their relatives but it could reduce
their burden, bring justice to perpetrators and create a better
human rights culture in the country.

How about religious freedom?

This year was also one marked by violations of religious
freedom, which the government has failed to take harsh action
against. Security authorities did not take
the appropriate action against a certain group that damaged the
property of Muslim organization Ahmadiyah, nor against those who
forcibly closed down houses of worship in Bandung and Bekasi,
West Java.

We witnessed this year the erosion of religious freedom. It is
really a setback in human rights protection since religious
freedom is guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution. Unfortunately, we
have become victims of the Osama syndrome, whereby radical groups
have manipulated the public fear of radicalism to intimidate
minority groups.

What is your comment on the ongoing trial of the Munir case?

It's most regrettable that the trial will apparently stop at
Pollycarpus. Pollycarpus is not the ultimate offender. He is only
a minor player. The Attorney General's Office and the court
should go deeply into the case until they arrest the
masterminds behind Pollycarpus.

If the government is committed to human rights protection, the
trial of the Munir case should be a good time to settle all the
unresolved gross human rights violations. The prosecution of only
Pollycarpus means that the government is not committed and has
made a compromise with the anti-human rights sides and it is a
huge debt that the President has with human rights advocates.

The government's weak commitment is shown in President
Susilo's reluctance to expose to the public the results of the
fact-finding team's investigation into the case. The President is
apparently trapped between the two conflicting sides. He has
promised Munir's wife Suciwati a thorough investigation into the
case but, on the other side, he has made a compromise with the
anti-human rights side.

Do you think the investigation should be taken up by the
National Intelligence Agency (BIN)?

Yes, the investigation must continue until the masterminds are
arrested. If the investigation ended with the arrest of BIN
personnel, the President would need to ensure there was no damage
to the reputation of the intelligence agency.

Do we have the necessary laws to uphold human rights in
Indonesia?

The prevailing laws have been sufficient. We have Law No.
39/1999 on human rights protection, Law No. 20/2000 on the ad hoc
trial of human rights abuses, the law of freedom of expression
and the law on freedom to unionize. The government recently
ratified the United Nations Covenant on Civilian Political Rights
and the United Nations Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights. These laws need to be consistently enforced.

Which laws hinder human rights protection?

The Criminal Code and the revised bill on the criminal code,
the bill on intelligence, the law on state defense and the law on
terrorism still have contentious chapters that could endanger
human rights protection in the country.

The Criminal Code threatens press freedom while the law on ad
hoc human rights trials carries the death penalty, which is
against human rights.

Regarding the intelligence bill, BIN has potential to abuse
its power if it is given the authority to arrest terrorist
suspects within three days. I can understand BIN's needs but the
arrest must be supported with strong evidence and made under
tight supervision.

The bill must stipulate the circumstances in which
intelligence agents are authorized to make an arrest and
sanctions for those who make wrongful arrests.