Indonesia set to ratify antidiscrimination convention

Indonesia set to ratify antidiscrimination convention

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives began deliberation
on Wednesday of a United Nations convention against all forms of
racial discrimination.

Minister of Justice Muladi told the House plenary session
hearing the first reading of the ratification draft that the
government wished to establish a legal basis for it to eradicate
discriminative acts on the basis of ethnic origin.

"We want all Indonesians to have no fear of any discriminative
acts. As stated in the United Nations declaration of human
rights, everyone is entitled to freedom, regardless of their skin
color, race, nationality or other aspects of their background,"
Muladi said.

Six months ago President B.J. Habibie ordered a halt to
discriminative policies based on race in his administration.

Chinese-Indonesians, despite their economic clout, have for
decades been chief targets of discrimination, which climaxed in
the riots in May last year. Ethnic Chinese businesses were
attacked and looted and Chinese-Indonesian women suffered sexual
abuse.

Chinese-Indonesians often complain the government
systematically treats them as second-class citizens. Some have
said they still experience difficulties in processing documents
despite Habibie's instruction. Careers in the military and
government bureaucracy are practically closed to them.

If everything goes as expected, the House will ratify the UN
convention before it ends its current sitting on April 1.

Muladi said that once the convention was ratified, a review
would be needed on several policies in economic, social,
cultural, political, educational and administrative fields.

"We may need to declare that every discriminative act is
considered a crime. We should also familiarize antidiscrimination
among the people," Muladi said.

In a presidential instruction dated Sept. 16, Habibie ordered
ministers, heads of state agencies, governors, mayors and regents
to dispense with the terms pribumi (indigenous) and nonpribumi
(nonindigenous).

The instruction has been framed "to give equal treatment and
service to all Indonesian citizens ... and to remove
discrimination in any form or degree, whether based on tribal,
religious, racial affiliations or origins".

There has been little response to the instruction from lower
levels of the administration.

Meanwhile, House Commission II on administrative affairs
agreed to pass eight bills on the formation of 11 regencies and
mayoralties. Among the mayoralties are Cilegon and Depok in West
Java and regencies including Singkil and North Luwu in Aceh.
(edt)