Review on RI's human rights record

Review on RI's human rights record

Indonesia has come under heavy international fire lately over its human rights record. Irawan Abidin takes a look at the issue. This is the last of two articles.

JAKARTA (JP): The outcry in Indonesia over the Dili incident was echoed by the international community. But even in this case, where criticism was clearly warranted, Amnesty's characterization of Indonesia as a rogue regime goes too far.

On the situation in East Timor, the United States Ambassador to Indonesia during the Carter Administration, Edward Masters, recently wrote: "There is no question that Indonesia has made serious mistakes in East Timor. But to vilify Jakarta's policies as ethnic cleansing and call for East Timor's independence is facile and irresponsible."

One telling example of how Amnesty allows its campaign to compromise the facts, and therefore the credibility of its report, is its claim that 200,000 people died as a result of the civil war in East Timor and its aftermath. Such figures have no foundation in fact.

Writing in 1991, respected Australian historian H.W. Arndt said: "[These figures] have their origin in a comparison between a pre-1975 census and a survey by the Catholic church made after 1975, when much of the population had fled from the fighting into the hills and could not be enumerated."

Careful examination of the evidence at the time by Sydney Morning Herald journalist Peter Rogers, and others, suggested that, if allowance is made for the East Timorese who fled to West Timor and later to Australia and Portugal, the total loss of life was approximately 30,000 -- including some 5,000 deaths during the civil war, and in its aftermath another 25,000 who may have died through malnutrition and disease.

This dramatically lower death toll is supported by a statement made in 1976 by a leader of East Timor's Provisional Government, Fransisco da Cruz. He said that 60,000 people had "lost their lives and homes," including 40,000 or more persons who fled to West Timor. It is also substantiated by United States Department of State testimony to Congress in early 1977. "A few thousand, most of whom would have been fighting men on both sides," the agency stated, had been killed during the fighting.

Such blatant misrepresentation of facts is discouraging, especially in the light of Indonesia's record and progress on human rights. Since 1991, Indonesia has been a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR) and adheres to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is signatory to the Bangkok Declaration on human rights and is firmly committed to the Program of Action agreed during the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993.

Recognizing the important role that could be played by national institutions in the promotion and protection of human rights, Indonesia in 1993 established a National Commission on Human Rights, the first institution of its kind in Indonesia.

The fledgling commission has already settled scores of claims and has many more under investigation. Indonesia has also sponsored two national human rights workshops, the most recent of which was held on Oct. 24-26, 1994. Government and non-government as well as domestic and foreign experts were invited to speak at these forums, including representatives of the UN Human Rights Center in Geneva.

Indonesia has also allowed its human rights situation to be scrutinized by international organizations and observers. In July 1994, Indonesia invited a United Nations Special Rapporteur to review claims of human rights abuses in East Timor. And although a full UN report on his findings will not be published until 1995, Indonesia was already recognized in March 1994 by the UNHCR for the "positive measures" it had taken to improve human rights.

In addition, a wide range of official delegations -- including parliamentarians, members of church organizations, journalists and representatives of various human rights organizations -- have been permitted to come to observe the situation in East Timor and Indonesia, and to explore means of making further progress on human rights.

When the world turned its attention to Indonesia during the APEC Meetings last November, it witnessed the dawn of what promises to be a more liberalized system of trade in the Asia Pacific. It also had a chance to look closely at a country that has undergone tremendous economic and social progress during the past 25 years.

This progress has been characterized by strong and consistent economic growth, increasing government deregulation, expanding trade and foreign investment, improvements in health care, education and massive investment in infrastructure, all of which have vastly improved the quality of life for millions of Indonesians.

Since 1967, per capita income has grown from a level of US$50 to approximately US$700 today; at the same time, poverty has fallen from 60 percent to 13.7 percent of the population.

As a developing country, Indonesia attaches the highest importance to such stability and development. Indeed, one of the main reasons that democracy in the West is so stable is because it was built on solid economic development.

People will also see a country founded upon a concept with which the West is intimately familiar: cultural pluralism and tolerance. Indonesia is home to over 300 distinct ethnic groups and almost as many languages. The respect of diverse cultures, languages and religions is deeply ingrained in the fabric of Indonesian society and in the conduct of government.

As Indonesia approaches its 50th year as an independent republic, it can be proud of its achievements, and look forward to the future with well-founded hope of continued economic and political development.

Without doubt, human rights is an area in which Indonesia will have to improve if it is to realize the full potential of its people, the key ingredient in any advanced and self-reliant society.

The record clearly shows that it is already making headway on this front, and more progress can be expected as Indonesia continues its advance towards modernity and prosperity.

Organizations like Amnesty International can play a constructive role in this, but they should help advance the cause of human rights in countries like Indonesia instead of engaging in political rhetoric.

The writer is Director for Information at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The views expressed in this article are his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of government.