Kontras meets UN Commission on Human Rights

Kontras meets UN Commission on Human Rights

JAKARTA (JP): The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims
of Violence (Kontras) met with the United Nations (UN) Commission
on Human Rights in the Swiss city of Geneva on Thursday to report
on a series of human rights violations that have occurred here,
including the abduction of political activists.

A member of the Kontras Advisory Board, Bambang Widjojanto,
who led a three member delegation, told The Jakarta Post from
Geneva on Friday that he had attended the 55th session of the UN
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

"Their knowledge of the recent disappearances in Indonesia was
very limited," Bambang, who is also chairman of the Indonesian
Legal Aid Foundation, said.

Bambang said the group admitted to only having reports of
disappearances in East Timor in 1996.

"I told them that since the resignation of Soeharto, reports
of disappearances had begun to emerge from Irian Jaya and Aceh,"
Bambang said.

Human rights groups here claim that hundreds of people were
abducted in the three provinces during the 32-year rule of former
president Soeharto, who resigned in the aftermath of deadly riots
which hit the country in May.

The National Commission on Human Rights reported in August
that at least 163 people are still listed as missing since a
military operation to quash a separatist movement began in Aceh
in 1989.

Bambang said it was still not clear what kind of measures the
UN working group would take, adding that Kontras has been invited
to attend a further meeting in November.

The working group was set up by the UN Commission on Human
Rights in 1980. It receives reports on disappearances from all
over the world and transmits them to the relevant governments in
order to help families find their missing relatives.

Special rapporteurs have also been appointed to investigate
reports of torture and summary or arbitrary executions, wherever
they occur.

The rapporteurs receive reports from individuals and
organizations and contact the relevant governments in an attempt
to clarify the allegations and bring torture and summary or
arbitrary executions to an end.

Intervence

If evidence of any of these practices is uncovered, the UN can
intervene with the relevant governments when the minimum
international standards of a fair trial and appeal appear not to
have been met.

During the meeting, Bambang was accompanied by Utomo Rahardjo,
the father of Bimo Petrus Anugrah -- a Driyarkara School of
Philosophy student who vanished in Jakarta in March, and
Mugiyanto, a kidnapped activist who has since been released.

The coordinator of Kontras, Munir, has said that at least 24
activists have gone missing within a period beginning in April
last year. Nine resurfaced after an absence of several months,
bringing with them revelations of abduction and torture whilst in
detention. One was found dead in May and the rest remain
unaccounted for.

Under heavy public pressure to find those still missing, the
Armed Forces (ABRI) in July announced the Army's Special Force
(Kopassus) were suspected of an involvement in the abductions.

ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto then discharged Soeharto's son-in-
law and former Kopassus commander Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo
Subianto, and removed two senior Kopassus officers from active
duties in August for their involvement in the abductions.

Eleven other soldiers from the elite unit are reportedly
facing courts-martial for their alleged involvement in the
kidnappings. (byg)