Law enforcement key to rights protection

Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights

Since the downfall of the repressive regime of former president Soeharto in 1998, Indonesia has produced several pieces of legislation which aim to strengthen human rights protection.

Among them are Law No. 39/1999 on human rights and Law No. 26/2000 setting up the human rights tribunal.

The amended Constitution, meanwhile, specifically sets out the recognition and protection of human rights.

Indonesia has also set up a considerable number of institutions to uphold human rights, including the National Commission on Women's Protection, the General Elections Commission (KPU), the Ombudsman's Commission and various human rights tribunals under the National Commission on Human Rights.

These developments can be seen as promising, especially if we judge the country's achievements in terms of human rights-related laws enacted and the number of institutions established. And there is no doubt that new laws relating to civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights have become part of our legal fabric.

Yet, in reality, for the past six years from the beginning of the reform era until the early days of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government, Indonesia has continued to witness widespread and blatant rights abuses.

The victims are mostly members of society who are economically and politically weak or, ironically, human rights campaigners.

Of the violations, the violence in conflict-prone areas like Aceh, Papua, Poso or Maluku is the most noticeable. Many people there continue to be victimized -- killed, tortured, raped, or just generally intimidated -- often with the consent or participation of the country's law enforcers.

It has become an open secret that most violence involves security forces, be it the military or the police.

Sadly, the trend continues.

One may argue, however, that some human rights have been protected in the country, as most Indonesians have exercised their political rights, are free to express themselves and have participated in relatively free and fair elections. This is to be commended and something we should be proud of.

However, what is also clear is that the country has yet to be able to provide physical protection to all of its citizens.

And it is the lack of the supremacy or rule of law that is the most saddening and frustrating for many.

In this country we continue to witness the "law of the rulers" -- not the rule of law; the legal system remains an institution that protects those who are wealthy and close to power above those who are not. The law has yet to exist in substance applying equally to everyone and, therefore, it remains unable to deliver justice.

Upholding the rule of law is the key to the protection of human rights. Human rights will be protected only if the government enforces the country's laws consistently and fairly. Those who commit murder or other serious crimes must be questioned properly and prosecuted fairly.

But the government remains unable to uphold justice.

Take Papua as an example. To date, Papuans still question the result of an investigation into the death of Dortheys "Theys" Hiyo Eluay. The case took place three years ago and it has been heard in court. Seven Army Special Forces (Kopassus) officers received extremely lenient jail terms for his murder and most Papuans continue to believe it was ordered by the state.

Theys headed the Papua Presidium Council, which campaigned peacefully for independence. He was killed in November 2001 while being driven home from a dinner hosted by the Special Forces headquarters in the provincial capital of Jayapura. Seven Kopassus soldiers have been jailed for between 24 and 42 months for the murder. However, the military tribunal investigating the killing failed to trace those who gave the order. Theys' family believe Jakarta was behind his assassination.

Papuans want to see the central government deal seriously with security officers involved in acts of violence against civilians, and they want those who ordered the crimes punished even more severely.

The Acehnese have also raised the same demands. They want law enforcers to settle several cases of murder and torture for the sake of justice.

The National Commission on Human Rights, whose authority is limited to conducting initial investigations, has finished several major cases of gross human rights violations.

They are the human rights violation cases in Wamena and Wasior in Papua in 2001 and 2003 respectively, which it says involved the military and the police. The Trisakti University shootings, the May 1998 riots and the bloody incidents known as Semanggi I and Semanggi II tragedies in 1998 and 1999 have also been investigated.

The commission concluded gross violations of human rights took place during all these incidents and recommended the Attorney General's Office prosecute the suspects, many of them again officers in the military.

To date, however, the office has yet to make any move and families and friends of the victims continue to question the government's commitment to settling these cases.

If the government avoids the prosecution of cases deemed gross violations of human rights, it is easy to predict its stance on other cases involving the protection of civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights and environmental rights.

The recent and violent police raids against villagers of Bojong, Bogor, who had protested the establishment of a waste disposal plant in their area do not auger well for human rights protection.

The police were clearly partisan in the dispute and not aware they had also to recognize and respect the residents' rights to protect their environment.

Conceptions and the application of human rights change as the context for them changes. Terrorism is the latest threat -- both to public safety but also to public rights. The authorities must draw a line between protecting the public without sacrificing people's human rights.

The campaign against terror must have a strong basis. It must not discredit certain groups for no good reason. Laws must be based on international human rights standards, which outlaw discrimination against people with certain political or religious views.

However, the biggest challenge for the current government is upholding the rule of law.

Only by creating a respected, fair and accountable police, military and judiciary can the government hope to guarantee the human rights of all.