Komnas HAM office set up in Kupang

Komnas HAM office set up in Kupang

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) inaugurated
on Wednesday its representative office in the East Nusa Tenggara
capital of Kupang.

The establishment is aimed at promoting human rights in the
province of East Nusa Tenggara, which shares a border with East
Timor.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment of
the representative office was signed here by East Nusa Tenggara
Governor Piet A. Tallo, all regents in the province and the
Secretary General of Komnas HAM, Gembong Priyono.

The MoU was also witnessed by the chief of East Nusa Tenggara
police, Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang, whose personnel will play a
pivotal role in the investigation of any human rights abuses in
the province.

In his official statement, Governor Tallo asserted that the
establishment of the representative office was greatly needed.

He said that human right abuses in the province had concerned
his administration, so that the presence of the office in the
province would help local authorities investigate and uncover
human right abuses.

The governor did not go into detail on the number of cases
that had occurred.

"We praise the establishment of the office. It can help
establish and strengthen the supremacy of law in the province,"
he said after the signing of the MoU.

Meanwhile, Gembong said that the Kupang office of Komnas HAM
represented the interests of the Komnas HAM's central office in
Jakarta. All operational and overhead costs of the representative
office, however, were incurred by the East Nusa Tenggara
provincial government, said Gembong.

Komnas HAM has established several representative offices in
other provinces, including the troubled provinces of Nanggroe
Aceh Darussalam, Papua and Central Kalimantan.

Human rights abuses have reportedly occurred frequently in the
province of East Nusa Tenggara, especially after East Timor
became independent in 1999.

Hundreds of thousands of East Timorese were forced into the
province aboard military vehicles in 1999, during the post-ballot
mayhem in September that year.

Border-crossing, mostly for economic reasons but others with
apparent criminal or political intent, has gone on relatively
unchecked since then, and as a result, unnecessary shooting
incidents occasionally occur near the border with East Timor,
allegedly perpetrated by both the Indonesian and East Timor
military personnel.

Recent shootings occurred after border-crossers, with unclear
motives and exhibiting suspicious behavior, were discovered
sneaking around the border with weapons.