Local activists blast Wolf over rights review

Local activists blast Wolf over rights review

SEMARANG (JP): An Indonesian human rights activist blasted
American Congressman Frank Wolf's assessment of Indonesia's human
rights record in East Timor as ungrounded and politically
motivated.

Muladi of the National Commission on Human Rights said here
yesterday the statements made by Wolf of Virginia were biased,
negative, fragmented and unfair.

"Wolf spoke only about the issue of human rights in the
context of civilian and political rights, and that approach is
not appropriate for the situation in East Timor," he told The
Jakarta Post.

"When we speak about human rights, we have to do it by
comparing also people's political, economic, social, cultural
rights and their right to develop."

"Compared to other parts of the country such as Irian Jaya,
the people of East Timor already have their economic, social and
cultural rights, as well as their right to develop, being met,"
he said.

Following a two-day trip to the East Timor capital of Dili,
Wolf released earlier this week statements criticizing the large
military presence there, and alleging a poor human rights record
and that the military were involved in criminal activities.

Quickly following on the heels of Wolf's report the United
States State Department's annual human rights worldwide survey
was released Thursday, placing Indonesia high on its list for
human rights abuses along with Myanmar, Pakistan, India, North
Korea and Cambodia.

The former Portuguese colony of East Timor was integrated into
Indonesia in 1976, a move never recognized by the United Nations
and many other Western states, which still acknowledges Portugal
as the province's administrative power.

"Like many of his counterparts in the West, Wolf accentuates
only the negative aspects in East Timor and fails to pay
attention to the positive side, like people's increased per
capita income, since integration in 1976, " Muladi said.

He cited, among other things, East Timor's improved living
standards and better roads over the last 20 years, better
conditions than were available during the 450 years of servitude
under Portuguese colonial rule.

Muladi, also rector of Semarang's Diponegoro University,
called for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Ali Alatas to
make a strong, confident move by presenting evidence of
development to counteract Wolf's statement.

International law observer Yasin Tasrif of the university's
law department seconded Muladi, calling Wolf's statement biased
and Wolf lacking the knowledge required to understand East
Timor's problems.

However, Yasin said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should not
take Wolf's statement too seriously as it was a personal comment
and everyone had the right to criticize East Timor's human rights
conditions.

"Unless criticism comes from a human rights commission under
the United Nations then Indonesia must take a proactive stance to
East Timor's human rights conditions," he said.

Yasin said: "Given Clinton's tendency to intervene in other
country's human rights conditions, it's possible he will always
question human rights in Indonesia, especially East Timor's, even
if the United States' record on human rights may not be far from
perfect." (har/01)