'Rights abuses are around us'

The nation commemorates Human Rights Day on Dec. 10. The Jakarta Post asked several people about their perception of human rights. Those interviewed noted that those in a position of power often violate others rights, or is that always the case?

Sudianto, 32, a taxi driver, lives in a rented house in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, with his wife and two children. He is a senior high school graduate from Brebes, Central Java:

I don't know much about human rights. I don't follow the issues discussed in TV talk shows or in the newspapers.

But I have learned that eviction is a violation of a person's right to shelter, and corruption is also a rights abuse. I conclude that rights abuses are always committed by those who act on behalf of the state. Am I right?

As a layman, I hope our nation's leaders act fairly toward all the citizens. If illegal squatters are evicted, the officials who are found guilty of corruption should be punished, then.

I think most people watch television reports -- a graft convict still leads the House of Representative, while a person who stole a chicken was sent to jail for three months. Is that fair?

Mariah, 36, sells snacks by the banks of Ciliwung River in Pasar Rumput, South Jakarta. She lives in Menteng Tenggulun, South Jakarta with her husband:

Human rights are the right to express your opinion, thoughts and grievances and the right to a decent life. What I mean by a decent life is living peacefully, with enough material things -- not too many and not too few.

I live in a village. We don't bother with these things. I just hear about it once in a while on TV, but in daily life we never talk about human rights.

Once there was a distribution of low-cost sembako (nine primary staples) and my neighbor came back to line up after she had taken her share. I think that was a human rights violation. She took somebody else's ration.

Budi Setiawan, 34, is a lawyer at a prominent law firm in South Jakarta. He lives with his wife and two children in Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta:

Citizens pay taxes as one of their obligations. But, the government doesn't return it in the form of benefits for the citizens. In fact, most of the officials corrupt the money. It is a violation of the citizens' economic rights.

More examples of human rights abuses are actually taking place around us. The recent string of evictions is the most blatant, as the administration drives away urban poor from their humble shelters without providing better alternatives.

Although the land these people occupy belongs to the state or individuals, which make the squatters human rights violators as well, evictions should be done in a more humane way.

--The Jakarta Post