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)