No more rights activists?

No more rights activists?

From Koran Tempo

Human rights activists are apparently nowhere to be found
anymore, while rights violators are not held accountable for
their actions. Why is the struggle to uphold human rights
suffering such a setback now?

In the early 1990s, a lot of rights activists emerged, such as
the late HJC Princen, who was director of a human rights defense
institute and fought to uphold human rights in the face of
suppression by the authorities.

Since the beginning of the reform movement and the fall of
Soeharto's New Order regime in 1998, rights violations have taken
place with greater frequency, notably the May 1998 riots, the
Trisakti and Semanggi I and II cases, and the East Timor rights
abuses in 1999.

The charge by an East Timor tribunal that Indonesian
presidential candidate Gen. (ret) Wiranto committed serious
rights violations in that territory should arouse our concern.
Worse still, rights activist Solahuddin Wahid, who fought for
justice in the May 1998 riots, is now Wiranto's running mate.

Let us hope that more rights advocates will be awakened to
continue the struggle, and that the government will thoroughly
resolve all outstanding rights cases in Indonesia, so that the
nation's civilized image can be restored.

BIMO JATMIKO
Bogor, West Java