NGOs complain to rights body of harassment

NGOs complain to rights body of harassment

JAKARTA (JP): Activists from local non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) complained about continued harassment from
"government officials" yesterday.

Maria Pakpahan, a member of one of the 16 NGOs lodging their
complaint with the National Commission on Human Rights, said some
of the harassment amounted to violations of civil rights.

"What we've been experiencing clearly are violations of our
basic rights, such as rights not to be tortured and to be
presumed innocent," the member of the International NGOs' Forum
for Development told commission members Marzuki Darusman,
Clementino dos Reis Amaral and Asmara Nababan.

Following the July 27 riots blamed on Democratic People's
Party (PRD), a small leftist youth organization, the authorities
have cracked down on members of other NGOs.

Tati Krisnawaty, the executive chairperson of the Solidaritas
Perempuan women's organization, said that 20 people in civilian
clothes claiming to be police officers raided the organization's
headquarters in Cipinang Cempedak, East Jakarta, Monday.

The men ransacked all of the rooms and seized documents and
some office equipment, Tati alleged.

"The plain-clothed police officers detained three employees.
One of them, a woman, was interrogated in a violent way and, as a
result, she's deeply depressed," Tati charged.

Another NGO alleged that one of its members was arrested, and
later "tortured", after mingling with a crowd in front of the
Central Jakarta District Court trying the lawsuit of deposed
chief of Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Megawati Soekarnoputri
against the government and her political rivals.

"He was forced to say that he is a member of the PRD. He was
detained for one month," said Billah, a representative of the
organization.

The activists called on the commission to set aside some funds
to establish a crisis center for people who were physically or
psychologically traumatized. "The center could also serve as a
safe haven for people wanting to evade arbitrary arrest," the
activists said.

Marzuki said that the police should be the first institution
to which people go in search of safety. He called on the
activists not to be overly alarmed because the crackdown was not
"a normal situation".

He conceded that NGOs are currently in an "uncomfortable
relationship" with the government, marked by blocked political
communication. He suggested more meetings between the NGOs and
government agencies.

Another complaint was lodged by lawyer Bambang Widjojanto of
the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute. He accused
government investigators of attempting to forcibly elicit
information on some suspects from their own lawyers.

"This means that the government has pushed us to violate our
profession's ethics," he said. He cited the Attorney General's
Office's decision to make him a witness against his own client,
PRD chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko, as a case in point.

The NGOs were also protesting about negative labels slapped on
some of them by the authorities. Organizations which advocate
people's rights in land disputes, for instance, protested the
government allegation that they were conducting "political
activities similar to those of the PRD".

The activists also refuted the allegation that they were
involved in violent action to further their objectives.

"The NGOs don't promote any form of violence," said Emmy
Hafild, the executive director of the Indonesian Environmental
Forum (Walhi).

"If we educate people to be more aware of their rights, it
doesn't mean we instigate or mastermind violent riots," Emmy
said. "Moreover, we are organizations which do not seek to make a
profit." (16)