RI human rights worsen: Amnesty

RI human rights worsen: Amnesty

LONDON (AFP): The human rights situation deteriorated in
Indonesia last year with killings and torture by the security
forces undermining efforts to investigate past abuses, Amnesty
International said on Wednesday.

"Positive initiatives, such as efforts to investigate some
past violations of human rights, were outweighed by a marked
deterioration in the human rights situation in areas such as (the
provinces of) Aceh and Papua (Irian Jaya)," the London-based
watchdog said in its annual report.

"Hundreds of extrajudicial executions were reported.
'Disappearances', torture and arbitrary detention were also
widespread, particularly in areas of opposition to Indonesian
rule," it said.

The country's first full year under a democratically elected
government in 40 years was marred by economic problems, which
fuelled social unrest.

"Against this background, the process of human rights reform
suffered and repression was widely used by the police and
military," it said.

Legal and judicial institutions in Indonesia were weak and,
with political resistance, this obstructed investigations into
past human rights violations.

This resulted in an "atmosphere of impunity" which undermined
efforts to improve the human rights situation in the country, the
report said.

In November 2000, legislation was adopted to establish Human
Rights Courts, however "the independence of the judiciary
continued to be undermined by corruption and by government
interference."