Rights commission armed with independence

Rights commission armed with independence

In conjunction with Human Rights Day, which falls today, The Jakarta Post runs the following article on the National Commission on Human Rights and its role in the effort to improve human rights condition in Indonesia. Two more stories appear on Page 7.

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): The United Nations defines human rights as those rights which are inherent in our nature and without which we cannot live as human beings.

Human rights is a serious matter, but what can you really expect from a human rights commission whose office is only a rented building and whose members are not always there for you?

It seems quite a lot. The physical constraints have not prevented members of Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights from carrying carry out their duty. The commission even stunned the public last year with their findings in the murder of labor activist Marsinah. The director of the company where the victim worked, as well as several other people, were being tried when the commission's secretary general Baharuddin Lopa announced that there were probably other suspects.

The East Java district court and the high court found the defendants guilty, but they were later exonerated by the Supreme Court. So far, the police have not been able to find the real murderers.

The Marsinah case is one of the commission's achievements. Despite initial public skepticism over its role in improving human rights conditions in Indonesia, the commission members have proven their integrity.

"People were skeptical. They thought we were yes-men," B.N. Marbun, a commission member, said recently.

Public skepticism was understandable, given the background of its establishment.

The issue of human rights started to emerge and become a hot issue here after the 1991 Dili riots, 43 years after the Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in a General Assembly resolution on Dec. 10, 1948.

According to official figures, dozens of civilians were killed or went missing in a clash between the people and the military in the capital of East Timor.

Strong criticism was launched against the government concerning the handling of the Dili case. Human rights activists from both inside and outside Indonesia condemned the incident, calling upon the government to show more respect for human rights.

In response to the call and to improve human rights conditions in the country, President Soeharto set up the National Commission on Human Rights on June 7, 1993. Former chief justice Ali Said was appointed chairman and authorized to choose 24 members for the commission. They were inaugurated on Dec. 10, 1993.

Independent

The public gave a warm welcome to the establishment of the commission even though many were skeptical about its independence. Soon, public anxiety disappeared as the commission members demonstrated their determination to promote human rights.

Another member, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Roekmini Koesoema Astoeti, gave assurances of the commission's independence, saying that the commission is free from any outside influence, including the President.

"We are fully independent. We report our findings to the President but we are not accountable to the President. The commission is accountable to the people," Roekmini said.

To maintain its independence, the commission has refused to accept foreign aid, Marbun added.

Cases never seem to stop flowing in to the commission's office. From January last year to mid October, the commission has dealt with more than 5,200 cases. Most of them involved land conflicts, labor cases, and abuses of power by government officials and members of the Armed Forces.

However, not all of them were settled by the commission. Roekmini said that the commission could only handle 20 percent of the cases. They could not handle the rest because they were being processed in court, fell into the category of civil cases, or were not human rights cases.

Every day, there are people who come to the commission to lodge their complaints. Some of them hand over letters of complaints and leave after the staff members assure them that the commission would examine the case. Others, however, insist on seeing the commission members, even though this could mean they have to wait for hours.

There are no requirements for commission members to be at the office all the time. However, there are times when the office is empty because its members are busy with their own activities.

"But we know how to reach them. So, if none of them are here when there are people who want to see them, we can just call any commission member who is free," a staff member told The Jakarta Post.

Commission member Bambang W. Soeharto said he had no difficulties in communicating with the other members, thanks to electronic technology.

"We use telephones, fax machines and we might use the Internet, too," Bambang said.

The commission holds a monthly plenary meeting and a coordinating meeting once every two months.

"Well, one or two members are not really active, but they say they pray for our activities. That's good enough," said Bambang, a former member of the People's Consultative Assembly who was elected last month as chairman of Kosgoro, a cooperatives' organization.

In some cases, the commission is able to settle problems through correspondence. In other cases, they invite the disputed parties to come together to discuss their problem. The commission members also conduct on-site investigations in certain cases.

Timika

The Marsinah case was not the commission's biggest event.

Last month, the commission investigated the alleged human rights violations in Timika, Irian Jaya. They announced that 16 civilians were killed and four others missing during various military operations in Irian Jaya over the past year.

"The National Commission on Human Rights expresses its deepest regret and apprehension at these violations of human rights conducted by the security apparatus, even though they occurred in the line of duty," the commission said in a statement on the Timika case.

In September, they went to Dili to investigate the wave of ethnic and religious violence which hit the East Timor capital.

The commission does not seem to have any problems in investigating cases which are considered sensitive, like ethnic and religious conflicts, or those involving the military.

"The commission can be accepted by all parties because of the integrity of its members," Marbun claimed.

Currently, there are only 23 people in the commission. One commission member died last year and another died earlier this year.

Even though the commission was set up by President Soeharto, the commission has the authority to choose its members.

However, it has found it difficult to find the right persons willing to fill in the two vacant positions.

According to Bambang, Maria Soemardjono, a professor of law at the University of Gajah Mada, Yogyakarta, was asked to join the commission, but she could not accept the offer because she was busy with her job as dean of the university's school of law and expert staff of the National Land Agency.

The commission is dominated by academicians, namely, Prof. Muladi, rector of the Semarang-based Diponegoro University; Prof. Satjipto Rahardjo from the same university; Prof. Charles Himawan, dean of the School of Law, University of Indonesia; Prof. Miriam Budiardjo, also from the University of Indonesia; Prof. Sri Soemantri from Padjadjaran University in Bandung; and Prof. Soetandijo Wignjosoebroto from University of Airlangga in Surabaya.

There are also members of the House of Representatives: Marbun, Clementino Dos Reis Amaral and Aisyah Amini, and former parliament members Marzuki Darusman, Albert Hasibuan, A.A. Baramuli and Bambang Soeharto. The remaining are former supreme court justices Djoko Soegianto and Soegiri, Moslem scholar Nurcholis Madjid, Minister of Religious Affairs Munawir Sjadzali, NGO activist Asmara Nababan, Sjarifudin Bahar, a expert staff at the office of the State Secretary/Minister and lawyer Gani Djemat.

Roekmini is a former member of the House of Representatives, while Baharuddin Lopa is the director general of Correctional Affairs for the Ministry of Justice.

When the commission started its activities late in 1993, it occupied space in the office of the Directorate General of Correctional Institution. Last month, they moved to a rented office on Jl. Pemuda, East Jakarta, following Lopa's retirement.

The government is renovating a building on Jl. Latuharhary, Central Jakarta, which will be the commission's permanent office.

The commission's annual budget is less than Rp 1.2 billion (US$525,000), which is taken from the state budget.

"It would be great if the government could double the budget. But, we understand the government's limitations. What we need to do is to do our best with the limited budget we have," Bambang said.

It seems that the commission's future tasks are more than just handling human rights violations. Finding people willing to serve the commission and obtaining a bigger budget to enhance its activities are now part of its tasks. It is a serious institution that deserves serious attention.