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.