Human rights pressure to be stonger

Human rights pressure to be stonger

SEMARANG, Central Java (JP): Noted expert on law Muladi warned
that the demand for better observance of human rights in
Indonesia will intensify in the coming years and stressed that
the nation should be prepared to deal with this situation.

Muladi, the rector of Diponegoro University, who is also a
member of the National Commission on Human Rights, said the
people in Indonesia will likely be pressing more for the
individual and collective rights that are rightfully theirs.

"Indonesia, specially its various institutions, must be
prepared to deal with these rising demands and to pay greater
attention to the human rights situation in the country," he told
The Jakarta Post.

He said pressure will also come from outside Indonesia, with
many countries now incorporating human rights into their foreign
policies, and linking this particularly with their foreign aid
programs.

He said the United States embassy in Jakarta each year draws
up a country report on Indonesia's human rights situation as
required by the American legislature.

The embassy will particularly be looking for any evidence of
gross violations of human rights that include political and
extra-judicial killing, disappearances, torture and cruel and
inhumane treatment, arbitrary arrests, detention, violations of
the freedom of speech and press, the freedom of assembly and
various other discriminatory practices, he said.

Muladi, a lawyer by training, who is well known for often
speaking his mind on various controversial issues, said Indonesia
must acknowledge that the human rights condition in the country
is far from satisfactory.

He said the National Commission on Human Rights was
established in late 1993 precisely to deal with the various
problems encountered in handling human rights in Indonesia.

The commission's task, besides looking into reports or cases
of violations of human rights, is also to expand the people's
horizon on the subject.

The commission also looks into various United Nations'
conventions on human rights and gives its recommendations on
which ones Indonesia should accede to and which ones it should
avoid.

After one year on the commission, Muladi said he felt that
Indonesia's institutions are still inadequate in dealing with
human rights problems. (har/emb)