Indonesia losing sight of rights, says Amnesty
Indonesia losing sight of rights, says Amnesty
SYDNEY (Reuters): Amnesty International said on Saturday the
Indonesian government was failing to live up to its pledges on
human rights and democracy and was resorting to repressive
measures used by former President Soeharto's regime.
"The government's response to recent demonstrations and riots
shows a striking similarity to the repressive methods employed by
the former Soeharto regime," the London-based human rights group
said in a report issued in Australia.
Amnesty said President B.J. Habibie had come to power in May
1998 with a high-profile agenda for political and human rights
reform which had delivered early positive results.
These included the release of 120 political prisoners and the
opening up of Indonesia and the province of East Timor, annexed
by Indonesia in 1976, to United Nations officials.
"Six months later, the Indonesian government appears to have
lost sight of its commitments to respect human rights and for
greater transparency and political participation," it said.
"In particular, excessive and lethal force has been used
against demonstrators and rioters and individuals are being
threatened with criminal charges for their peaceful political
activities," it said.
Indonesia, facing an acute social, political and economic
upheaval, on Thursday said it would hold general elections in
June 1998.
It also promised to speed up an investigation into Soeharto's
wealth, the focus of mounting student protests amid estimates the
former president's family amassed a fortune of up to $40 billion
during his reign.
On Friday, a senior government official said Soeharto could be
placed under house arrest during a probe into his wealth.
Amnesty said Indonesia should bring to justice those
responsible for the deaths in May 1998 in Jakarta of four
Trisakti University students, which sparked riots that brought an
end to the 32-year Soeharto rule. At least 1,200 people during
the riots.
It said Soeharto's son-in-law, Lieutenant-General Prabowo
Subianto had been dismissed from the military over the
disappearance of nine political activists but noted that Prabowo
and two fellow senior officers had not been brought to trial.
"In both cases, the investigations have been only partial and
those responsible for the violations have not yet been brought to
justice," it said.
"Moreover, 13 other political activists who 'disappeared'
between April 1997 and May 1998 are still missing and the
investigation into their 'disappearance' appears to have halted,"
it said.
Amnesty said it was concerned about continued killings and
other human rights abuses against independence activists in East
Timor and other the troubled provinces of Irian Jaya, on New
Guinea island, and Aceh, in northern Sumatra.