More support flows in to defend human rights body

More support flows in to defend human rights body

JAKARTA (JP): More people are coming to the defense of the
National Commission on Human Rights since it received a rap over
the knuckles from the government for overstepping its boundaries.

Former home affairs minister Rudini and legal scholar Yusril
Ihza Mahendra, on separate occasions yesterday, said the
commission has been working within its prescribed boundaries.

In addition, the growing public trust in the commissions
effectiveness in handling grievances should remind the government
of the shortcomings of its own agencies, Rudini said.

After giving an oration to mark International Human Rights
Day, which falls on Dec. 10, Yusril yesterday said the
Presidential Decree No. 50/1993, with which the commission was
established, clearly stipulates the body is authorized to gather
facts and monitor violations of rights.

"In order to gather facts, the commission has to investigate,
its members have to 'go down below,' and see people," Yusril
said.

These activities could not be construed as the commission
directly settling disputes, as alleged by Coordinating Minister
for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman last week,
Yusril said.

Rudini said the great trust in the commission displayed by the
public should remind government agencies to improve their
services.

After addressing a seminar on state affairs held by the
Association of Intellectuals for Pancasila Development (PCPP),
Rudini said unless government institutions improved their
performance, there was a danger of public discontent which could
lead to social unrest.

"We have to remain aware of the danger of people's
dissatisfaction over government decisions. This discontent could
lead to social unrest and disrupt national stability," said
Rudini, who leads the Institute for Strategic Studies of
Indonesia (LPSI), a research center with a growing reputation.

Rudini cited a number of recent riots in the country which he
said were rooted in people's dissatisfaction with many of the
decisions made by government institutions.

"Government officials should therefore change their
perspective of what it is that constitutes service to the public.

"They should not only issue decisions based on existing laws
and regulations, but should consider factors such as the actual
conditions of people lives," he said.

He cited cases of people living on state-owned land plots.
Despite the fact that it has every right to take back the land,
the government should not just evacuate the inhabitants but
should also consider how long the land has been a home for the
people, he said.

Islam

Yusril yesterday was speaking at a discussion on Islam and
human rights held by the Indonesian Committee for World Moslems
Solidarity (KISDI). He said in his oration that the teaching of
Islam is based on the concept of human rights, although it does
not call it that.

The lecturer at University of Indonesia's Law School, gave an
example of the Islamic concept of human rights in the Medina
Charter -- an agreement Prophet Muhammad signed 14 centuries ago
with the Moslems' enemies in order to establish peaceful co-
existence. The rights of every individual, regardless of their
religion, was to be protected.

"The charter allowed the followers of different faiths to live
together. Medina was then a pluralistic city recognizing
individual, cultural and religious rights.

"It's a misperception to say that Indonesia, whose majority
population is Moslem, does not have cultural roots in human
rights concerns," he said.

In Islamic teaching what is important for human rights
promotion is the concept of law and justice which has influenced
society, he said. (03/imn/swe)