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.