Rights body's counsel

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) submitted a four-point list of recommendations to President Soeharto on Jan. 16. The commission's Secretary-General Baharuddin Lopa last week summarized the organization's tentative conclusions regarding the recent outbreaks of unrest in certain areas in this country.

"Our tentative conclusion is that the unrest was triggered by feelings of dissatisfaction which have been growing in our society for too long, finally triggering security disturbances in a number of places in our country.

"The reasons, among other things, are the prevalence of social and economic disparities, while job opportunities remain limited and constant and the work force continues to grow in numbers."

Baharuddin's remarks do not digress from the four recommendations presented by the commission to President Soeharto. In brief, those recommendations incorporate better protection for the economically weak among the population; affirmation of the supremacy of the law and the judiciary; sustenance of political communication, and an urgent and fundamental reform of the state administration and apparatus.

As President Soeharto regretfully remarked, however, why did those outbreaks of unrest and social upheavals occur at this precise moment, when our economy is getting ready for take-off? All this makes us feel awkward and raises the question: what have the three branches of state power (legislative, executive and judicial) been doing in the past couple of decades? Another, more crucial, question is: what kind of counsel has the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA) been giving Soeharto all this time?

Before there was a Republic of Indonesia, or a colonial Netherlands East Indies administration -- or even before there were the ancient kingdoms of Mataram, Majapahit or Sriwijaya -- our people were already here. And once those kingdoms disappeared -- including the Netherlands East Indies administration, which collapsed after ruling for three-and-a-half centuries -- the Indonesian people remained and will always remain.

Therefore, it is the Indonesian people who hold the birthright over their country -- not the governments of Majapahit, Sriwijaya, or (King) Amangkurat. This is the correct way to interpret (the state ideology) Pancasila and the Constitution. If we should make an erroneous interpretation of the Constitution, then -- whatever we do -- we will only be sowing seed and reaping weeds.

-- Merdeka, Jakarta