Missing persons: A blemish on our image

The disappearance of people, specifically the disappearance of individuals actively involved in political movements, is a new phenomenon. Quite possibly such people have gone missing in the past, but in terms of the public interest aroused by such occurrences, these cases are new.

Assuming that such an observation is correct, the public anger stirred up is not signal of progress, but a gut reaction brought about by an obvious link to another infamous cause celebre, namely the disappearance of a large number of innocent people in Latin America throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

The disappearance of people in cases that are linked, or perceived to be linked, to politics is not only upsetting and a violation of human rights, it also paints the nation in an extremely bad light.

That is the reason why all of us, whatever our political affiliations, agree that such occurrences must not be allowed to continue. They must not become standard practice or follow a particular pattern in terms of frequency, numbers or victims' characteristics.

Let us all resolve to bring this distasteful practice to an end immediately. The essential consideration in taking this step is not our reputation abroad, but the fact that imposing such a fragile and precarious state of existence upon any particular group of individuals, regardless of their political beliefs, runs against our collective conscience, our humanitarian principles and the ideals which underpin a free and just Indonesia.

-- Kompas, Jakarta