Military issues rights booklet

Military issues rights booklet

JAKARTA (JP): Observers and experts hailed the introduction of a new booklet specifying the military's position on human rights.

The booklet, issued by the Irian Jaya military commander Maj. Gen. Dunidja and to be implemented within the province, is expected to serve as a directive for soldiers.

The booklet aims to reduce complaints about human rights violations by military personnel, Kompas daily reported.

The booklet was issued a week after a military court in the Irian Jaya capital of Jayapura sentenced four soldiers to between one and three years in jail for killing three Timika villagers.

The National Commission for Human Rights welcomed the booklet and hoped it would help prevent human rights abuses by the military.

The commission is confident the booklet will be well-received by the Armed Forces' leadership, and will ensure it is used in other provinces as well.

The 15-page booklet contains instructions on what to do and how to behave professionally when dealing with the public. The first point refers to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

Indonesia's military has a sociopolitical role in addition to the conventional security function.

Mulyana W. Kusumah, executive director of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, said he believed the booklet, if followed, could limit misconduct by soldiers.

"When strictly enforced, I'm sure that cases of maltreatment will be tremendously reduced," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

To foster change, Mulyana said, the military should issue the booklet to each local military jurisdiction.

Mulyana, however, stressed the importance of the military abiding by the 1985 international convention against torture. The convention was ratified by the government.

Some parties are skeptical that the booklet will make a difference.

Abdul Hakim Garuda Nasution, executive director of ELSAM, a non-governmental advocacy organization, challenges the Armed Forces to actually adopt the directives and not treat the booklet as a political gimmick.

The military has been toying with the idea of writing a manual on human rights ever since reports of human rights violations by soldiers became more frequent, he said.

Roekmini Soedjono, a retired police general who is also a member of the human rights commission, said she hoped the booklet will serve as a moral guide for soldiers.(14)