No news is bad news
No news is bad news
Is no news really good news? Just because we rarely find or
hear any news about human rights problems in Indonesia these
days, does this mean that all is well on the human rights front?
Unfortunately, those who think this way are gravely mistaken.
As we mark the 53rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration
on Human Rights today, it is worth remembering that Indonesia
still has immense and serious problems in meeting its commitment
to uphold human rights. But the subject seems to have virtually
disappeared from the news, particularly these last 12 months. If
it has made the news, it has rarely been front page material.
As a nation, we appear to have become tired of an issue that,
only a few years ago, consumed so much of our attention that it
propelled us, in May 1998, to bring down a regime notorious for
its gross human rights violations.
Nowadays, you would be hard pressed to find or hear the words
hak azasi manusia (human rights) mentioned in newspapers and TV
news. Institutions that championed the human rights cause a few
years ago no longer grace the news. When they do, the stories are
not about their struggle to further the cause, but more about the
internal bickering among their leaders. Last week's row in the
Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) is a case in point.
A few years ago, groups like YLBHI, Kontras (the Commission on
Missing Persons and Victims of Violence), Komnas-HAM (the
National Commission on Human Rights), PBHI (the Indonesian Legal
Aid and Human Rights Association), were not only very vocal, but
were also revered by all, including the government.
Today, they have lost their sting, if not their voice.
Constitutional legitimacy seems to have done little for
Komnas-HAM. Now that it is founded upon a law, and not a mere
presidential decree, one would have hoped to see a Komnas-HAM
that is more active in fighting for the cause.
These groups have had popular legitimacy in conducting their
work, which is far more important than any piece of legislation.
Now they are on the verge of losing this asset, unless they get
their act together. The only way to maintain their popular
legitimacy is by demonstrating their work and contribution.
The struggle for freedom, justice and peace -- three goals
mentioned in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights -- is far
from being over in Indonesia. As a signatory, we are not even
halfway through fulfilling all the Declaration's 30 articles.
If anything, when the Soeharto regime collapsed in 1998, the
real struggle was only just beginning. That should have become a
turning point for Indonesia to start behaving like any decent
member of the international community, that is, behaving in a way
that respects all our basic rights.
Some people may argue that we have come a long way these last
three years. There is no doubt that some achievements have been
made. We have held a democratic general election, elected a
president through popular will, and when we brought him down and
appointed another one, it was done through a democratic process.
We have empowered the House of Representatives to act as a check
on the powers of the President, and inserted human rights clauses
in our Constitution.
None of these initiatives, however, has stopped human rights
infringements. If anything, our human rights record has worsened.
The perpetrators, previously limited to the state, including the
military and police, now include non-state entities, some of them
privately organized groups.
Atrocities are being committed on a daily basis in Aceh,
Maluku, North Maluku, and the Central Sulawesi regency of Poso.
There are frequent cases of human rights violations in Irian
Jaya, and abuses took place in Kalimantan early this year.
And then there are the dozens, or probably hundreds, of past
human rights violations that have been investigated, but never
reached court. Impunity remains the order of the day when it
comes to human rights violations, just like in the Soeharto
years.
When the state organs -- the executive and legislative
branches and the judiciary -- formally adopted human rights as
part of their agenda in 1998, human rights NGOs seemed happy to
lose the initiative, which had previously been their domain. But
human rights are simply too precious an issue to be left entirely
in the hands of the state, especially a state that has such a
poor record.
It's time for the NGOs to seize the initiative again.
All is not completely lost. There is one small piece of good
news today: the presentation of the Yap Thiam Hien human rights
award to Suraiya Kamaruzzaman and Ester Jusuf Purba.
It is heartening to know that there are still individuals in
this country who are not only committed to the cause, but are
also doing good deeds. The torch of the human rights struggle may
be burning low, but the flame has been kept alive, thanks to the
likes of Suraiya and Ester.
Now it is up to the rest of us to fan the flame.