'Rights activists must be active, or resign'

JAKARTA (JP): Inactive members of the National Commission on Human Rights, which has become the popular venue for the oppressed to air their grievances, have been called on to resign.

The call came from Muladi, a senior member of the commission the government established in 1993.

"It is better to resign than be constantly reprimanded, isn't it?," Muladi said.

He was referring to Hasan Basri, the chairman of the influential Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) who recently resigned from his position at the commission.

Hasan told The Jakarta Post that he resigned because he was overwhelmed by the job he was supposed to do as a commission member.

"The issues brought to the commission are just too difficult and I did not feel capable of solving them," Hasan said.

Muladi said the commission needed people with strong commitment and motivation. But he opposed the idea of regulating commission members' activities as suggested by his fellow activist, Bambang Soeharto.

Soeharto also proposed forming a special team to assess the performance of commission members.

"I'd rather see everything informal in this commission. We can discuss anything with Pak (Mr.) Lopa," Muladi said. Baharuddin Lopa is the commission's secretary-general.

A plenary meeting scheduled for Dec. 2 will elect four members to replace members who have died: former chairman Ali Said, A. Hamid Attamimi, Ign. Djoko Moeljono and Roekmini Koesoemo Astoeti. The commission currently has 21 members. (14)